Does anyone else make their own clothes

C1aire · 17 February 2008 at 5:43PM

All this talk of jeans has reminded me of the time my old flatmate proudly showed me her new denim mini skirt. She was chuffed because it was a 'sales bargain'. I nearly fainted - it was so blatantly an old pair of jeans, the manufacturers had not even bothered to use a proper skirt pattern. You could see the shape of what would have been the tops of the leg pieces just stitched over eachother to form a skirt, rather than stitched together to make 'legs'. And it didn't even have a hem :shocked: . Still amazes me even now. Still, a handy solution for when the seams wear out in the inside legs (always the first to go, or so I find!)...

It was the first time I realised I was turning into my mother (just not as cash-savvy).

Hardup_Hester · 17 February 2008 at 6:05PM

I thought this might give you all a laugh. I was asked to shorten a pair of trousers by a work colleague, when she gave them to me she asked how much it would cost, I told her £3.50. Once they were done she wanted to collect them at a time when I would be out, so I arranged to leave them on the doorstep & she said she's put the £3.50 in an envelope & put it through the letterbox. When I got home the trousers had been collected & there was an envelope on the doormat. When I opened it there was £1 in it with a note saying 'I looked at the trousers & as the legs are so narrow I decided £1 was enough to pay to have them shortened' Bloody cheek, I shan't do any more alterations for her again, lol.

C1aire · 17 February 2008 at 6:32PM

Hardup_Hester wrote: »

I thought this might give you all a laugh. I was asked to shorten a pair of trousers by a work colleague, when she gave them to me she asked how much it would cost, I told her £3.50. Once they were done she wanted to collect them at a time when I would be out, so I arranged to leave them on the doorstep & she said she's put the £3.50 in an envelope & put it through the letterbox. When I got home the trousers had been collected & there was an envelope on the doormat. When I opened it there was £1 in it with a note saying 'I looked at the trousers & as the legs are so narrow I decided £1 was enough to pay to have them shortened' Bloody cheek, I shan't do any more alterations for her again, lol.

OMG! Some people are so rude. Would she go into a supermarket and only pay what she 'thought' her groceries are worth? I dare you to go and ask for £2.50 worth of the thread back...;)

Justamum · 18 February 2008 at 10:26AM

C1aire wrote: »

It was the first time I realised I was turning into my mother (just not as cash-savvy).

I've been turning into my mother for years! She sewed for herself and my sister and I for years, and whenever she went into a shop looking at clothes she would look at the price, then look at the standard of sewing and say "I wouldn't buy that, you can make it better at home.". I find myself doing the same thing. Even the expensive shops often have a bad finish on the seams. What I really need is an overlocker to get a really good finish. Zig-zag just doesn't do it as well.

My mum doesn't do much sewing now though. She used to always cook from scratch too, but now just buys ready meals in as there's only her and dad and she finds it difficult to stand for long at the cooker as she needs hip replacements.

Justamum · 18 February 2008 at 10:29AM

Hardup_Hester wrote: »

I thought this might give you all a laugh. I was asked to shorten a pair of trousers by a work colleague, when she gave them to me she asked how much it would cost, I told her £3.50. Once they were done she wanted to collect them at a time when I would be out, so I arranged to leave them on the doorstep & she said she's put the £3.50 in an envelope & put it through the letterbox. When I got home the trousers had been collected & there was an envelope on the doormat. When I opened it there was £1 in it with a note saying 'I looked at the trousers & as the legs are so narrow I decided £1 was enough to pay to have them shortened' Bloody cheek, I shan't do any more alterations for her again, lol.

Some people want something for nothing. It was your time and knowledge she was paying for and she thought that was only worth £1?! You should ask for money up-front if you ever do alterations in future.

Reformed · 18 February 2008 at 10:29AM

Hardup Hester, was she joking? That's so rude!!

Mrs_Flittersnoop · 18 February 2008 at 4:12PM

HH, this is precisely why I no longer do alterations for people. They are so ungrateful it's staggering. If it's so 'easy' then they should do it themselves. I'm really sorry that you were treated so badly by this person.

Mrs F

zombiecazz · 18 February 2008 at 4:15PM

OMG what a blinking cheek.

Olliebeak · 18 February 2008 at 4:17PM

I've had people buy something at a Jumble Sale and then ask me to do an alteration to it.

Nothing quite like being asked to hem/re-line/alter sleeves/mend pockets on a smelly old coat. Only ever accepted the job ONCE - that's what made me decide to never do it again - the coat stank of BO!!

jinny · 18 February 2008 at 6:39PM

When I'm asked to do alterations for folk I now say no. Most people are really grateful and pay up but some think you are there to do them a favour. I've had people say they will come back with the money and next time you bump into them they make excuses, or as one lady said she thought 3.50 was a bit steep for a hem as she only paid 2.00 for the skirt, another customer rang me at 11pm on xmas eve to have her curtains taken up! I've sewn stinky clothes as well:eek: just not worth it.

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Does anyone else make their own clothes

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