Get the household skills your gran knew back, and stop binning what could be mended
Most people think these skills were lost. Few realise they only skipped a generation, and that The Kitchen-Table Method brings them back one evening at a time.
It was never your fault. Nobody sat you down and showed you.
You pick up a shirt and the button is gone. You find the sock with the hole in the heel. You stand there with a needle, a tangle of thread and no idea where to begin. So the shirt goes back on the chair, and the sock goes in the bin.
Our grandparents didn't think twice about any of it. They darned the sock, saved the button, turned the sheet and hung the onions in old tights. Nothing was wasted. It wasn't a hobby. It was simply how a home ran.
Then the chain broke. Skills that were once handed across a kitchen table stopped being handed down. School moved on to other things. Shops filled up with cheap replacements. Gran's drawer stayed shut, and the know-how stayed inside it.
You have probably tried to fill the gap. There are lists of 'lost skills' that tell you what people used to do, and short clips that rush past the tricky bit. They tell you what. They rarely show you how. That is why you can nod along and still not know where to put the needle.
And it quietly costs you. Socks thrown out that could have lasted. Soap slivers dropped in the bin. Sheets binned for a worn patch down the middle. And underneath it all, the small, nagging feeling of wishing you'd paid attention when she showed you.
Here is the good news. These skills are simple once someone shows you, one step at a time, in the right order, with a picture beside each step. That is all gran ever did.
The Kitchen-Table Method: one skill, one evening, step by step
Every skill in this book is set out the way she would have shown you at the kitchen table. You start with a short story so you know what you're making and why it was done. Then come clear numbered steps, with an illustration to check against. Because you only take on one skill at a time, there is nothing to feel overwhelmed by.
One skill at a time
Each skill is its own page and its own evening. Pick the one you need, put the kettle on and begin. You never have to read the whole book first.
The how, not just the what
Exact lengths, small details and the little warnings that make the difference, such as not pulling too hard on a darn. This is the part that lists and clips leave out.
A picture beside the steps
With over 300 step-by-step illustrations, you can look up from the needle, check the picture and carry on with confidence.
What you'll find when you open it at the kitchen table
- Why a darn is woven like a tiny loom, and the little loop of wool left at each turn so it moves with the sock.
- The one mistake, pulling the wool too hard, that turns a neat darn into a puckered, scratchy patch.
- Why grating your soap slivers first makes them melt faster and more evenly into a fresh bar.
- The soft, sticky, porridge-like stage that tells you the soap is ready to press into its mould.
- Why a drier bar of soap lasts much longer in use, and how long to leave it sitting.
- The first check to make on your onions, so the soft or sprouting ones don't spoil the rest.
- How to snip one onion from the bottom of a tights leg while all the others stay exactly in place.
- The matchstick secret that leaves a button's thread slightly loose, so it can form the little neck called the shank.
- How to save buttons from worn-out coats and shirts so the matching ones stay together in the jar.
- Why the neat finished edges of a sheet end up in the middle when you turn it sides to middle.
- The two things you probably own already, a soft pencil or a dry bar of soap, that can free a stuck zip.
- Why wiggling a zip pull a few millimetres at a time works better than a hard tug.
- How wartime knitters got good yarn from a worn jumper, and the soak and the small weight that straighten the crinkles.
- How two pieces of fabric and a little wadding make a mattress for a doll's cot, and why the paint needs a day or two before the dolls move in.
Here are the first skills inside
These eight pages show how every skill in the book is laid out. Each one has a short story, then clear steps.
Inside the book
→Darning a sock with a darning mushroom
The wooden mushroom in every old sewing basket, and how it turns a hole back into a sock.
Inside the book
→A new bar of soap from old slivers
What to do with those tiny leftover scraps instead of dropping them in the bin.
Inside the book
→Storing onions all winter in old tights
Why a worn-out pair of tights beats a bag from the shop.
Inside the book
→The button jar: sorting, saving and sewing on a button
A matchstick is the little secret to a button that sits just right.
Inside the book
→Turning sheets sides to middle
Cut the sheet in half, swap the sides, and give the bedding another life.
Inside the book
→Freeing a stuck zip
A soft pencil or a dry bar of soap, and a bit of patience.
Inside the book
→A doll's cot from an old apple crate
A humble wooden crate becomes a snug little bed.
Inside the book
→Unravelling an old jumper and reusing the wool
The wartime knitter's way to get good yarn from a charity-shop jumper.
A real book you can prop up beside the sewing basket
It's a big page, 21.6 x 27.9 cm (8.5 x 11 inches), with 320 pages of black and white illustrated steps. That means you can see the picture and the words together, with wool in one hand and the book open beside you. It won't go to sleep, run out of battery or lose your place when your hands are busy. It stays on the kitchen shelf, ready the next time something needs mending.
| Size | 21.6 x 27.9 cm (8.5 x 11 in) |
| Pages | 320 |
| Formats | Hardcover or paperback |
| Inside | Black & white, 300+ step-by-step illustrations |
The same kitchen table, a few evenings apart
Before- A sock with a hole goes in the bin.
- A shirt waits on the chair for a button.
- Soap slivers pile up with nowhere to go.
After- The sock is darned and back in the drawer.
- The button is sewn on and sits just right.
- A fresh bar of soap sits on the dish.
Why these old skills are worth getting back
Less waste, more kept in your pocket
A darned sock, a bar made from slivers, a jumper unpicked into wool. Each one is something you no longer need to throw away or buy again. The savings are small, but they come round again and again.
The quiet pride of doing it yourself
There's a particular satisfaction in holding up a sock that was a hole an hour ago. You made that, with your own hands and a ball of wool. No one can sell you that feeling.
Something to pass on
Gran's knowledge reached you in fragments, if at all. Learn it properly and you can show someone else, as she would have done. A button sewn on beside a child is a lesson they'll remember.
Not waiting on someone else
A stuck zip, a missing button, a worn sheet. These small jobs no longer need a shop, a repair service or a favour. You can open the page, follow the steps and have it sorted by teatime.
What readers say
Bought one for my daughter too
Made soap from all those slivers in the bathroom drawer. My daughter saw it and wanted the book, so I ordered the hardback and paperback set.The kind of book my parents had
Solid, well made, illustrated. It lives on the kitchen shelf now. The onion-in-tights trick saved half my sack this winter.Listen while I knit
The audiobook is a lovely touch, I play it while I work through a project. The book itself is gorgeous.Great present
Gave it to my mum, she says it reminds her of her own mum. We did the button jar together on Sunday.
Like having my nan back
The darning page took me straight back to her kitchen. I mended three pairs of socks the first evening and they actually look neat. Lovely heavy book too.
Fixed the zip on my coat
I always thought a stuck zip meant a new coat. Five minutes with the steps on page 64 and it runs like new. Clear drawings, no waffle.
Beautiful, wish it had more photos
Proper hardback, the paper is thick and it stays open on the table. I would have liked a few more photos in the soap chapter, but every step is there.
Finally learned to sew a button properly
Embarrassing to admit at my age, but I never learned. The pictures make it obvious. I also love the app for ticking off what I have done.
Very practical
Good, clear instructions. Some skills I already knew, but plenty I did not. Turning the sheets sides to middle was a revelation.
Exactly what I hoped for
Big, clear, and properly British. No American measurements, everything in grams and centimetres. Highly recommend.
Get the book, plus the audiobook and the skill tracker
Picture the kitchen table with this book open on it, the audiobook playing while your hands are busy, and the tracker on your phone showing what you've learned so far. A drawer of odds and ends stops being clutter and starts being a set of things you know how to use.
This is the launch of a brand-new book. For the launch weeks the audiobook and the app come free with every copy, because we want our first readers to try everything and tell us what they think.
The complete audiobook
7 h 20 min of listening, read by a British narrator. Every chapter, so you can listen while you work.
- 7 h 20 min of listening
- Read by a British narrator
- Every chapter, listen while you work
The Kitchen-Table Skill Tracker
Pick a skill, follow the steps and tick off what you've learned. Works on phone, tablet and computer.
- Pick a skill, follow the steps
- Tick off what you've learned
- Works on phone, tablet and computer
Choose your edition
Get the skills backSecure checkout · Arrived damaged? We replace it free.DAY
Try it at your own kitchen table, with the risk on us
Read it, use it, try the skills. If it isn't for you within 60 days, email us for a full refund.
Questions
How big is the book, and what's inside?
It's 8.5 x 11 inches (21.6 x 27.9 cm) with 320 pages. It's printed in black and white, with over 300 step-by-step illustrations across 150 household skills.
Do you deliver in the UK?
Yes. The book is for readers in the UK, and you'll see the delivery details at checkout before you order.
What if my copy arrives damaged?
Get in touch and we'll put it right. The details of our guarantee are shown on this page.
I've never done any of this. Is it for beginners?
Yes. Each skill starts with a short story, then clear numbered steps in order, with an illustration to check against. You can start with the simplest, such as the button jar, and work up.
Is the content British or American?
British. The skills come from British homes, and the measurements are in the units you know, such as centimetres. There are no ranches or woodstoves.
Would it make a good gift?
It can. It's a book for anyone who likes to make, mend or understand how things used to be done. The audiobook and app come with each copy during the launch.
How do the audiobook and the app work?
The audiobook is the complete book, 7 h 20 min, read by a British narrator, so you can listen while you work. The Kitchen-Table Skill Tracker lets you pick a skill, follow the steps and tick off what you've learned, on phone, tablet or computer.
Can't I just find this online?
Pieces of it, yes. But they're scattered, they skip the small details, and you can't easily prop a phone beside a darning mushroom. Here every skill is in one place, laid out the same way, step by step.
Gran's drawer is still there. Now you can open it.
The knowledge didn't vanish. It skipped a generation, and it's waiting to be picked up again, one skill and one evening at a time.
Put the kettle on, find a sock with a hole in it, and begin with the first page. By the end of the evening you'll have done something your gran would have recognised.