The Singer Girls

For many working class women of 1940s Britain, sewing was not just a pleasant pastime, but a demanding occupation, and not an optional one. More often than not, fresh-faced girls of just 14 were led down to the local factory by their mother in order to earn their keep, stitching anything from children’s dresses to underwear.

However, when war broke out the factories began sewing army and navy uniforms for the troops, parachutes and surgical fields bandages and suddenly it was deemed essential war work by the government. Set in the heart of the East End rag trade, Kate Thompson’s new novel, Secrets of the Singer Girls explores the lives of the brave seamstresses who kept their foot to the machine pedal while the bombs of World War II dropped overhead.

In the latest issue of Sew we catch up with the author and the women who inspired the book.