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2018 Fashion on the Ration challenge

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  • PipneyJane
    PipneyJane Posts: 4,003
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    edited 9 January 2018 at 1:45PM
    Hello everyone

    May I join? I planned on doing it on my own anyway, so I might as well do it with others!

    I have done it in 2016, giving myself 100 points to allow for a more 21. century style wardrobe where you can't walk around all make do and mended. I have managed with 96 points and that even included 8 points for yarn for a jumper that I never finished...

    So 2018 I will try it with 66 points. There is a huge "but" though since I also want to lose weight... In case I will get close to my goal of 3 stones / 20 kilos I will have to replace my entire autumn/winter wardrobe including my coat, which will be more than 66 points, not to mention the fact that I might also have to replace some summer clothes due to them getting too big or just wear and tear...

    So my plan is the following; I will have 66 points until the time I have lost one stone. From then on I will get one extra point for each lb I lose, so for example 14 extras should I manage to lose 2 stones this year. Plus I will do what someone suggested and only use half the points when I replace something that gets too big if I don't upgrade. Since I don't have a decent charity shop anywhere near I unfortunatelly can't bulk out my points with second hand clothes, so I just know that I can't stretch 66 points far enough to still be dressed okish...

    I know it is a bit like cheeting and I hope you still want me on that tread after that, but I just know that I can't get through this challenge with 66 points if I lose more than a few lbs this year... So I guess this "cheeting" allows me to do both, lose weight and challenge myself to think about what I buy.

    LIke some others, my downfall will likly be knitting wool anyways, but I already plan on not knitting any garnments for myself while I try to lose weight (there is something so frustrating about size 16 jumpers...), so I guess besides a few scarfs and socks for which I already have yarn I will mainly knit gifts and things for charity. And should I really come across some yarn I desperately want to knit a garnment out of it once I reach my goal weight I will buy it "off points" and only charge it once I actually start knitting with it.

    By the way, does anyone know if cotton is counted as wool? I guess it is, as in wool being anything organic and non-wool any man-made fiber?


    Hi Ricarda Racoon. Welcome to the challenge.


    Regarding your weight-loss-wardrobe dilemma, when you hit your target weights, we can always claim you were bombed out. Bombed out householders received extra coupons. Your calculations sound reasonable for those. (Off the top of my head, I can't remember how many and my Google-fu is failing me today, so I can't find an online reference.)


    How are your sewing skills? Your skinnier self may find that your winter coat will hang on you just fine if you replace the shoulder pads with bigger ones. Or you could get a bit creative and add a few darts or take in the seams so that it fit you better. Worst case: you still have to replace it. Best case: you've saved yourself a few ££ and some clothing coupons. Anyway, having a larger coat is often an advantage, because you can wear more layers underneath. (I always buy my coats at least one size larger than everything else, for that very reason.)


    Regarding coupons for knitting wool versus cotton, Based on the British habit of classifying any knitting yarn as "wool" even if it comes from a chemistry lab, my working assumption is that cotton would come under the classification of "wool". Again, I can't find a specific reference.

    HTH


    Pip
    "Be the type of woman that when you get out of bed in the morning, the devil says 'Oh crap. She's up.' "

    2024 Fashion on the Ration Challenge 66 coupons,
  • PipneyJane wrote: »
    Hi Ricarda Racoon. Welcome to the challenge.


    Regarding your weight-loss-wardrobe dilemma, when you hit your target weights, we can always claim you were bombed out. Bombed out householders received extra coupons. Your calculations sound reasonable for those. (Off the top of my head, I can't remember how many and my Google-fu is failing me today, so I can't find an online reference.)


    How are your sewing skills? Your skinnier self may find that your winter coat will hang on you just fine if you replace the shoulder pads with bigger ones. Or you could get a bit creative and add a few darts or take in the seams so that it fit you better. Worst case: you still have to replace it. Best case: you've saved yourself a few ££ and some clothing coupons. Anyway, having a larger coat is often an advantage, because you can wear more layers underneath. (I always buy my coats at least one size larger than everything else, for that very reason.)


    Regarding coupons for knitting wool versus cotton, Based on the British habit of classifying any knitting yarn as "wool" even if it comes from a chemistry lab, my working assumption is that cotton would come under the classification of "wool". Again, I can't find a specific reference.

    HTH


    Pip

    Thank you Pip!

    Wasn't it something along the line of "when your clothes drop below a certain number due to being bombed out, fire, theft..." So I always assumed they had something like a list of how many outfits a person needed as a bare minimum and when someone got bombed out and lost all their clothes besides the ones they were standing in they would get x points which should get them a minimal wardrobe of say 3 outfits, a pair of shoes, a coat and underwear. Someone who had lost parts of their clothes would get a reduced number of points to top up their wardrobe to this minimum again and someone who lost some clothes but still had 10 dresses, 15 jumpers and half a shoe shop would get none because although they had lost clothes they still had more than enough.

    About the coat, I might really be able to do something about it, depending on which part of it might be too lose. I am not the best seamstress, I can shorten jeans and alter the size a bit... But with help of my Mum and her sewing machine I might be able to alter it.

    I also assumed that cotton counts as wool, both with knitting wool and also with fabric made of cotton / wool instead of any man made fibre.
    Fashion on the Ration 2022: 5/66 coupons used: yarn for summer top 5 /
    Note to self, don't buy yarn!
  • eandjsmum
    eandjsmum Posts: 465
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    Hi I may just have fallen off the wagon at the weekend . I was book browsing in my local Cs at the week end and I came across 2 pairs of BNWT jeans. One of which ended up coming home with me.
  • PipneyJane
    PipneyJane Posts: 4,003
    First Anniversary Name Dropper First Post I've been Money Tipped!
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    eandjsmum wrote: »
    Hi I may just have fallen off the wagon at the weekend . I was book browsing in my local Cs at the week end and I came across 2 pairs of BNWT jeans. One of which ended up coming home with me.

    Apologies for the delayed response but you are still firmly on the wagon, with your 66 coupons intact. By definition, charity shop finds are secondhand , even if they still have the tags on them.

    Me, on the other hand... I have well and truly slipped in my resolve to not buy any yarn. I made the mistake of browsing the Blacker Yarns website, idly looking for something that is currently not listed. Their limited edition, Brushwork yarn caught my eye and not for the first time. Previously, I had resisted but chances are that it will never be made again (the main fibre is very difficult to obtain). Ahem... 10 balls found their way into my shopping cart and I am now 10 coupons down. (Fortunately, my “wool fund” could cover the money-side of it.)

    So that brings my total spent to 10/66 coupons, leaving 56 remaining.
    "Be the type of woman that when you get out of bed in the morning, the devil says 'Oh crap. She's up.' "

    2024 Fashion on the Ration Challenge 66 coupons,
  • PipneyJane
    PipneyJane Posts: 4,003
    First Anniversary Name Dropper First Post I've been Money Tipped!
    Forumite
    PipneyJane wrote: »
    Apologies for the delayed response but you are still firmly on the wagon, with your 66 coupons intact. By definition, charity shop finds are secondhand , even if they still have the tags on them.

    Me, on the other hand... I have well and truly slipped in my resolve to not buy any yarn. I made the mistake of browsing the Blacker Yarns website, idly looking for something that is currently not listed. Their limited edition, Brushwork yarn caught my eye and not for the first time. Previously, I had resisted but chances are that it will never be made again (the main fibre is very difficult to obtain). Ahem... 10 balls found their way into my shopping cart and I am now 10 coupons down. (Fortunately, my !!!8220;wool fund!!!8221; could cover the money-side of it.)


    So that brings my total spent to 10/66 coupons, leaving 56 remaining.


    Afternoon All


    We're two months into the challenge. How are your coupons surviving? Mine are shrinking. I have several spends to declare:



    • 4 coupons on 2 pairs of thermal tights in Lidl at the weekend. (I was surprised to find them. I bought several pairs in October/November when they were first stocked, and have been wearing them to work under my trousers, on the days when I'm sitting in a portacabin in the highways depot.)
    • 5 coupons on a thermal top from Damart. (What can I say? It was in the sale and has their highest thermal rating. I was cold that day.)
    • 4 coupons on an FUBC kit from Susan Crawford: http://susancrawfordvintage.com/fubc/ This is my third purchase of the Victoria colourway (red). The yarn is rarer-than-rare and it supports a good cause. (Last week's mileage paid for the kit.) No, I am not making the shawl. After I purchased the first kit, my original idea was to make a striped top but I didn't think I'd quite manage that with 600m of yarn (1 red and 1 white skein), so I bought the second kit. After staring at the red yarn last week and worrying about the colour running in the wash, I realised it would make a lovely Sunray-Ribbed Sweater (https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/sun-ray-ribbing) . It will be my second. The first one took 730m, so 600m of red is certainly not enough, hence the third purchase of the kit.


    Anyway, rationalisations aside, the above will be used, worn multiple times and enjoyed. The above spend brings my total to 23/66, leaving 43 coupons for the rest of the year.


    - Pip
    "Be the type of woman that when you get out of bed in the morning, the devil says 'Oh crap. She's up.' "

    2024 Fashion on the Ration Challenge 66 coupons,
  • Two jackets, owned up to earlier, and a pair of trousers that I need for work and were in the sale - brings me up to 22 coupons I think.

    I've resisted buying wool, even in Aldi, and my only other purchase has been a top from a CS which is 'off ration'. I reckon on previous form, I should get through the year - home sewing plans have been neglected but I still have way too many clothes in the wardrobe.

    Oh - hang on, I've just re-read the 'rules' above. New handbag, albeit a TK M bargain, that's another 5 coupons so I'm up to 27. I just couldn't find one I liked in the CS and based on previous experience I think this bag will see the war out!
    Life is mainly froth and bubble: two things stand like stone. Kindness in another’s trouble, courage in your own.
  • Having been a label addict this thread is very interesting! I'll be following the updates.


    Personally I've found that you can find great clothes bargains on some of the clothing websites these days.


    If you buy a season in advance you can pickup good discounts as things are going out of season. I bought my holiday clothes for this year back in October when everyone was trying to get rid of their stock!
    Save £12k in 2019 -
  • PipneyJane
    PipneyJane Posts: 4,003
    First Anniversary Name Dropper First Post I've been Money Tipped!
    Forumite
    Two jackets, owned up to earlier, and a pair of trousers that I need for work and were in the sale - brings me up to 22 coupons I think.

    I've resisted buying wool, even in Aldi, and my only other purchase has been a top from a CS which is 'off ration'. I reckon on previous form, I should get through the year - home sewing plans have been neglected but I still have way too many clothes in the wardrobe.

    Oh - hang on, I've just re-read the 'rules' above. New handbag, albeit a TK M bargain, that's another 5 coupons so I'm up to 27. I just couldn't find one I liked in the CS and based on previous experience I think this bag will see the war out!

    My handbag is a bit like that. It’s on it’s fifth year of use. I bought it in the airport near Alicante in 2006. Used it for a couple of years then tucked it away, before bringing it back into use in 2016. Quality lasts for years.

    Enjoy your bag.

    - Pip
    "Be the type of woman that when you get out of bed in the morning, the devil says 'Oh crap. She's up.' "

    2024 Fashion on the Ration Challenge 66 coupons,
  • Noodle99
    Noodle99 Posts: 11 Forumite
    Hi, can I join in to please? It sounds like a good challenge. I need to sort out my wardrobe, and it will certainly make me think carefully if i need anything new. Thanks.
  • PipneyJane
    PipneyJane Posts: 4,003
    First Anniversary Name Dropper First Post I've been Money Tipped!
    Forumite
    Noodle99 wrote: »
    Hi, can I join in to please? It sounds like a good challenge. I need to sort out my wardrobe, and it will certainly make me think carefully if i need anything new. Thanks.

    Hi Noodle! Welcome to the challenge.

    I desperately need to tally up, but I am on my phone which makes it difficult. I know that, so far, I have declared 23 coupons spent out of 66, which leaves me with a balance of 43...

    I have a spend to declare but I don’t want to move away from this screen on my browser to find out the coupon cost, in case I lose this post. We were in Lincoln earlier in the month and I succumbed to a beautifully cut tweed jacket from a lovely shop called “Vintage Country” on Steep Hill. They sell one-offs, are usually extremely expensive, but I got this jacket at 75% off, for less than £100. (My DH was very impressed when I showed him the price tag.). I will have to declare the coupons later.

    Also while in Lincoln, I scored a pair of suede court shoes from a charity shop for £3.50. They look like they have never been worn, but count as secondhand and, thus, off ration. ( I didn’t see anything else that appealed to my taste in the charity shops that day.)

    - Pip

    (Posting on your phone is hard! But it’s the only way I will get onto MSE at lunchtime. My new employer has the internet locked down hard.)
    "Be the type of woman that when you get out of bed in the morning, the devil says 'Oh crap. She's up.' "

    2024 Fashion on the Ration Challenge 66 coupons,
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