Continuing our Australian Mondays, this week we are looking at an example of the issue sewing kit that is used to make repairs to uniforms in the field. Following the same pattern as Commonwealth sewing kits dating right back to the Victorian era, this sewing kit consists of a cloth roll with a pair of tapes to allow it to be secured when not needed:

Examples can be found in DPCU Auscam fabric, but this one is made in plain green. Undoing the tapes and rolling it out allows us to see the compartments for the needles, thread and spare fabric:

The contents allow a number of different expedient repairs to be made and a large swatch of DPCU fabric is included for patching large rips and tears. Woolen thread is included to allow socks to be darned and spare shirt and uniform buttons are included to replace missing examples:

The sewing kit has an ink stamping inside it indicating it is Australian Army property and was manufactured in 1993:

The sewing kits continued to be manufactured for the Australian Army up until around 2000, but are not marked as withdrawn from service, although still listed in Australian Army Stores catalogues. They cost AUD$3 each when in service.