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Dressability was delighted to welcome BBC Points West to our Swindon workshop recently, helping to shine a light on our work and the difference that clothing alterations, adaptations and reuse can make within our community.

The BBC visited Dressability to find out more about our de-branding work, which gives good-quality clothing that might otherwise go to waste a new lease of life.

Our team removes embroidered and printed company logos from donated coats, fleeces and other garments, allowing them to be reused and donated to people who need them. Suitable clothing is often passed on to organisations including Swindon Night Shelter.

The visit was a fantastic opportunity to demonstrate the work that goes into carefully removing company branding and to explain how something relatively simple can prevent perfectly usable clothing from being discarded.

Dressability’s work extends far beyond de-branding. At the heart of the charity is our clothing adaptation service, supporting adults and children with disabilities, limited mobility and reduced dexterity.

Our experienced team can make a wide range of practical alterations to clothing, from replacing difficult buttons and zips with easier fastenings to adapting garments around medical equipment, wheelchairs and individual mobility requirements.

We were very grateful to BBC Points West for taking the time to visit Dressability and help raise awareness of our work.

You can read the full BBC News story and find out more about the project here:

Read the BBC News article – Dressability

If you or someone you know could benefit from clothing adaptations, please get in touch with the Dressability team.

Telephone: 01793 512878
Email: dressmaking@dressability.org.uk

A huge consignment of clothing has recently arrived at Dressability, with our fantastic volunteers taking on the task of carefully removing embroidered company logos so the garments can be put to good use again.

The clothing was generously donated by Osnic Embroidery & Printing, a family-run business established in 1991 specialising in embroidered and printed workwear, teamwear and promotional clothing.

Rather than allowing perfectly good garments to go to waste when they can no longer be used for their original purpose, the team at Dressability is carefully de-branding each item by removing the embroidered logos.

It is a time-consuming process, particularly when removing embroidery without damaging the garment underneath, but the end result means coats, fleeces and other items can be given a new lease of life.

Once de-branded, suitable clothing can be passed on for reuse within the community, helping people who need it while also reducing the amount of usable clothing that might otherwise be discarded.

The project is a great example of how the skills of our team and volunteers can be used not only to support our local community, but also to make a positive environmental difference through reuse.

The scale of this latest donation has certainly kept everyone busy, and we are incredibly grateful to our volunteers for giving their time to work through such a large quantity of clothing.

A huge thank you goes to everyone at Osnic Embroidery & Printing for thinking of Dressability and for their incredibly generous donation.

With plenty more garments still to work through, our volunteers will be kept busy for some time yet, but every item successfully de-branded is another perfectly good piece of clothing with the opportunity to be used again.

The Dressability team recently had the pleasure of visiting the Live Well Swindon Project, run by Swindon Borough Council, to learn more about the support available to people across our local community.

Live Well Swindon helps people improve their health, wellbeing and independence by connecting them with the right support, activities and local services.

It was a great opportunity for us to learn more about the work of the Live Well Swindon team, the people they support and the many different ways they help residents across Swindon.

We were also pleased to share more about the work we do at Dressability and how our specialist clothing adaptation service can help people maintain their independence, comfort and confidence.

For someone living with a disability, reduced mobility or limited dexterity, seemingly simple features of everyday clothing can sometimes present a real challenge. Our team works with each person individually to find practical solutions, from adapting fastenings and altering garments for wheelchair users to accommodating medical equipment and other individual requirements.

Building relationships with other local organisations and services such as Live Well Swindon is incredibly valuable. By understanding more about the support available across our community, we can help ensure people are connected with the services that could make a difference to their everyday lives.

A big thank you to the Live Well Swindon team for such a warm welcome. It was a pleasure to meet everyone, and we look forward to keeping in touch.

If you or someone you know could benefit from Dressability’s clothing adaptation service, please contact us on 01793 512878 or email dressmaking@dressability.org.uk to find out how we can help.

Dressability is pleased to be teaming up with DEBRA, the Butterfly Skin Charity, for a joint fundraising event taking place on Friday 12th June at The Con Club, 20 Bath Road, Swindon, SN1 4BA.

The evening will be a celebration of 70s and 80s music in the form of a bingo night, with doors opening at 7.30pm for an 8.00pm start. Tickets are priced at £12 per person and include games and food. There will also be a raffle on the night with prizes to be won.

Guests are welcome to come dressed in 70s or 80s style if they wish, though fancy dress is entirely optional.

Spaces are limited and tickets must be purchased in advance, so early booking is strongly recommended.

To book your place, please contact Claire on 07866 936680.

All funds raised on the night will go directly towards supporting the work of both Dressability and DEBRA.

We hope to see plenty of familiar and new faces there.

On the 27th of April 2025, local hero James Doran completed the London Marathon in order to raise funds for Dressability, after just one year of running. Not only did James achieve a fantastic time of 3:54:37, he also did it in the beating sun. Many involved with Dressability followed his progress with pride, always on the look out out for number 58681!

The extent of sacrifice James has made, training in all weather conditions, is remarkable, as well as his courage to continue after accidently being knocked down within the first 5km. It is as a result of James’ efforts, that he has managed to raise nearly £1,000.

All funds raised from James’ run will enable us to keep on helping those who utilise our service, providing support to clients within our local community as well as nationally through our postal service. Our service transforms everyday clothes into something truly life-changing for people with disabilities and limited dexterity, helping them dress with comfort, independence, and pride.

As a thank you, we presented James with a little gift to acknowledge his efforts and accomplishment. On behalf of everyone at Dressability, thank you James, forever a friend of Dressability.

Dressability are looking for an experienced Seamstress with Management experience to lead the team of highly skilled Dressmakers.

The Service Delivery Manager will help build upon the 25 years of work Dressability has completed in the local community, altering and adapting clothing for people of all ages with learning and physical disabilities, and those with limited dexterity.

The successful candidate will share our passion for ensuring that people with disabilities and limited dexterity are able to dress independently wearing clothing of their choice. They will possess excellent sewing skills, proven management skills and the enthusiasm to motivate and lead our service delivery sewing team.

DELIVERING SERVICE QUALITY

· Provide line management to a small team of dressmakers including training, monitoring standards, performance, the prioritisation of workloads, and conducting meetings with staff and volunteers as necessary

· Motivate and inspire our volunteers evaluating new projects and ways of working

· Developing ideas, initiating projects and ensuring quality standards are met. Providing training to dressmaking trainees as and when needed.

· Develop standards and maintain the quality of the services Dressability provides

· Regularly monitor and evaluate the service to ensure quality and technical standards are met

· Establish new services for clients where appropriate such as outreach projects and access to services in clinical settings

· First point of contact for clients and team members when issues arise

· Manage health and safety on the premises as well as adherence to all policies and procedures. Named first aider.

· Identify success stories to enable case studies to be written and funding secured.

· Give external presentations showcasing Dressability’s work in order to increase our reach.

· Liaise with Income Manager to ensure smooth day to day running of the charity.

Job Type: Part-time

Pay: £37,050.00 per year (Pro Rata)

Expected hours: 18 – 24 per week

Schedule: Monday to Friday

Experience: Managing staff: 3 years (required)

Work Location: In person

If you’d like to know more about this role or would like to arrange a chat, please email 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐨𝐦𝐛𝐬@𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲.𝐨𝐫𝐠.𝐮𝐤