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Does anyone else make their own clothes

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  • Justamum
    Justamum Posts: 4,727 Forumite
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    MrsFraggle wrote: »
    I subscribe to a magazine called Ottobre (http://www.ottobredesign.com) (click on english as you're like to reach the page in finnish). Its about €38 a year but is good value for money if you're likely to sew *a lot*. If not, you can buy individual issues for about €8 if there's something in that issue you like. Each issues has loads and loads of patterns in for kids so indivually I think is great value. There's also a version for womens clothes. The best thing is that they're easy to sew.

    I went on to this website. The children's clothes are gorgeous. I might subscribe to it myself.
  • Mariel
    Mariel Posts: 624 Forumite
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    And me!! Abakhan's the best, I've got loads of the 50p elastic bags, I used to buy one every time I went but now I have them all in one place I know how many I've got. I use the waistband elastic (well I'm not sure what it is but it works for waistbands) most for pjs etc. I've had lots of good stuff from the 50p bundles too, one with a piece of scooby doo fabric and strawberry shortcake fabric enough of each to make pjs for my daughters - and one is 15 so they weren't small bits! Oh and the best one, charcoal velvet, really lovely stuff, I made a skirt and a bag and I seem to have lost what's left.
    The only problem with Abakhan is that the bargains take over your house if you're not careful!
  • nanamags
    nanamags Posts: 313 Forumite
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    Abakan is brilliant although I have not been there for ages as I have no room for any more material. I have not actually made anything for over a year but when my daughter was young I never bought any clothes for her other than undies.

    I think the sewing skill must be inherited because my grandmother was a tailoress. I bought my daughter a sewing machine for her 18th birthday and she carried on the tradition.

    This thread has got me interested again so I will be dusting off my machine. I agree that making a skirt should be fairly easy to start off with.

    Happy sewing
    Mags
    :hello: N:hello:A :hello:N :hello:A :hello:M :hello:A :hello:G :hello:S :hello:
  • Olliebeak
    Olliebeak Posts: 3,167 Forumite
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    Hey Abakhan customers - which branch do you go to?

    Do they all have the same brilliant remnants that ours in Liverpool has - where they actually weigh it on a scale instead of measuring it by the metre/yard?

    I bought a length of navy blue suiting material (60ins wide and 5metres + in length) for about £6.50 - specially for making skirts for work purposes. I am very tall and like my skirts to come below calf length - so quite difficult to get hold of. The official work uniform is slightly above the knee (God alone knows where that would come to on me!) and straight :eek: . I haven't worn a short straight skirt since about 1972 - and at 56, I'm not about to do so again!!! If they don't like my preferred skirt length, they can stick their job where the sun don't shine ;) .
  • Mariel
    Mariel Posts: 624 Forumite
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    I go to the one at Mostyn, it's fantastic and huge, not been to any other branches. They do have weighed remnants but I always check the 50p bundles first, then cheap rolls which is usually pretty amazing (got some black thickish fabric, really expensive looking that has made trousers for me and school trousers for my daughter, I shared the 10 metres that was on the roll with the person in front of me in the queue who heard me raving about it for £1 per m). The weighed remnants section is much better than it used to be, much better organised but it is often too expensive for me, I'm such a cheapskate! I use the stretch stripe shirting for pjs.
    What are the other branches like?
  • Mariel
    Mariel Posts: 624 Forumite
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    Just a thought - there seems to be a definitle link between being tall and making your own clothes - I'm tall and I don't know what I'd have done if I couldn't sew as it is only very recently companies have started making tall clothes. Off topic for a second - I was looking throught the Next catalogue earlier and they now do a tall range - I'm very impressed, their extra long is only usually a titchy bit too short, in fact I had some trousers a couple of years ago that were too long and now they are doing possibly the longest trousers in the country at a very reasonable price.
  • Olliebeak
    Olliebeak Posts: 3,167 Forumite
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    Liverpool is brilliant for bargains but the building is nowhere near as pleasant as Mostyn.

    The downstairs basement is where all the remnants are and can be very dusty with the fibres etc. but their variety of remnants is vast! It's not in the very centre of Liverpool - down the side of TJ Hughes just off London Road. Upstairs is where all the rolls of fabric are, along with the zips, trimmings etc and patterns. They've got a selection of bridal stuff including headresses. There is also a part for all the craft stuff.
  • Mariel
    Mariel Posts: 624 Forumite
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    I think I might well try and find it next time I'm in Liverpool.
    Did you ever go to the Mostyn branch years ago before they started renovating it? I can hardly remember it now, I was only in my teens so it would have been about 20 years ago. It was a cold and draughty stone barn basically! A bit minging and not at all 'nice'. Mind you when they did it up the prices rocketed. I used to go to buy black jersey to make leggings before they had been invented - I was just trying to make incredibly opaque tights!
  • Mariel
    Mariel Posts: 624 Forumite
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    Someone's just told me they thought Liverpool had closed - is that wrong then? I hope so having just scored a lift there in the near future!
  • Olliebeak
    Olliebeak Posts: 3,167 Forumite
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    I've not heard anything about the Liverpool branch closing down - and there's nothing on their website either. So I presume that it's STILL open.

    I'm sure that if it closed there would be some mention of it in our local evening paper, petitions, picket lines, campaigns etc - this IS Liverpool after all! :rolleyes:
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