Learning to mend clothes

Source A: an original personal account.

My first repaired sleeve looked as if a small spider had crossed it in a hurry. I wore it anyway. At the sewing group, nobody unpicked my work without asking; someone showed me how to keep the next line straight. Three months later, I repaired a neighbour’s coat. The stitches are still visible. I like that: they record the fact that an ordinary person can learn a useful skill without becoming an expert first.

Source B: an original account by a clothing-repair volunteer.

I once told a visitor that anyone could learn to sew. Then I watched her struggle to grip the needle through painful fingers. My cheerful sentence had made her difficulty sound like unwillingness. We now offer repairs as well as lessons, and keep tools with larger handles. Learning matters, but so does receiving help without being given homework. I judge the group by the clothes people can wear again, not by how many people can thread a needle.

Compare how the writers use their own experiences to support their views about clothing-repair groups. Use evidence from both sources.