Turning the sheets inside out (sides to middle)

jaxx46

Brilliant, that's what you lot are my OH has been wanting a blue striped grandad style shirt for ages, couldn't find one anywhere. He has several normal blue striped shirts, guess who'll be removing a collar or two in the near future. Can't believe I didn't think of this myself.

Aril

I'm not particularly gifted sewing wise but I've always had a crack at repairing and adapting clothes. At the moment I've got a good pair of quality trousers that I bought OH in the CS just after Christmas which need taking up [either one of us will do it] By doing that I've spent £4.99 and a bit of my time rather than £18 which were the cheapest I saw in the sales.
I think it has saved my an absolute fortune over the years:D
Aril

Alison_Funnell

Button tins - another lost 'art'. Mum has buttons (stored on threads in sets) from her mum and odd buttons from her gran. I'm sure lots of us here have them, but in the wider world they seem a dying thing. And zips - nothing was useless all bits got saved, leather straps from kilts, hooks and eyes, bits from bras - the lot.

Gosh typing that I realise how much I don't reuse.

I keep meaning to 'repurpose' (sorry I really don't like the phrase much but seems right here) clothes - change buttons, add/remove trimmings abd the like, I really should put in a bit more effort to do it.

BILLIE

Reading this thread has warmed the cockles of my heart and brought back so many happy memories. My darling mum was a dress maker and I remember her turning collars for the OH's of her clients a job she hated and the sheets being turned S to M. I have boxes of buttons that were from her sewing work rooms, and yes probably zips. Magnetic pin picker-upper! Bringing a lump to my throat.... x

ceridwen

GreyQueen wrote: »

"I have Egyptian cotton and flanellette sheets that my mother was given as wedding presents in the 50's, fgs, and they're still going strong, even if they are wearing a bit thin and I've had to rehem them all a couple of times. I darn my hand made socks and sweaters because they're made from good quality wool yarns to a high standard and also will last years. Talking of which don't wait till sweaters actually go into holes, darn the thin place. It's easier."


valk_scot, I'm with you 100% on the quality of old versus modern sheets. An elderly South African friend introduced me to the concept of BMD sheets. Stands for Birth-Marriage-Death, that being how long a good sheet should last! Her own S.A. grandma's reaction to the outbreak of WW2 was to go out and stock up on linen as "You won't be able to buy this quality after the War". She'd already lived thru WW1 and she was right. Even "Utility" brand sheets, sometimes to be found unused in secondhand stores, are superior to most stuff you can buy now. And even don't get me started on the rubbish quality of sewing threads these days........;)

Its been my suspicion that sheets SHOULD last for literally decades - having had some cheap ones that were literally seethrough in a matter of a couple of years. So - my latest sheets I've bought should outlast me - as I figured the way to go to get hardwearing sheets would probably be to spend £50 odd per sheet each and buy organic cotton ones - so thats what I've done. I've now got 2 sets of kingsize organic cotton ones of differing types (which cost me about £200 in total) and I hope they will "see me out".

meritaten

I used to use the kids shiny rubber balls as darning mushrooms! better than tennis balls! and old jeans got re-used as either bags - cut straight across the crotch area and sew together then use a length of the leg for the strap! or just cut across and use as a mini skirt! or shorts! the legs were saved to make 'patches' for the knees of jeans for my kids. or on the inside of the knees of their school trousers (using a peice of iron on Vilene to fit) made the trousers last all year instead of one term!

ChocClare

valk_scot wrote: »

Yes, I remember mending tights too. Tights were expensive compared to nowadays and it was fine to have a little mend or two when I was at school. I remember buying little cards of assorted colours of nylon thread for this in the haberdashery department of Woolworths.

I also remember that if you ripped one leg of your tights badly you saved them till you did the same to another pair of the same colour then cut the damaged legs off and wore the two one-legged pairs.

Good grief, that has just bought back SOOOO many memories. I, too, still have a Woolworth's nylon mending kit identical to the one shown here. It wasn't actually mine originally - I inherited it from my grandmother's sewing box - but I can remember at school you had to wear beige socks with the "correct cable pattern" or older girls were allowed to wear American Tan tights. We all had millions of ladders in them and wore them anyway. They were somehow much thicker than the ones you get now - and I can remember sitting and darning them when my mother told me I was a disgrace and that wearing laddered tights was "what prostitutes do". I reminded her of this the other day and we both fell about in hysterics. She swore blind she would never have said that, but the seventies were a weird time when strict mothers (she would have been about 36 at the time) said strange things...

beemuzed

"American Tan" - gosh I had totally forgotten that, but I remember that was the most popular colour for tights! I remember getting my first pair in 1966 when I was in the 6th form!

Justamum

beemuzed wrote: »

"American Tan" - gosh I had totally forgotten that, but I remember that was the most popular colour for tights! I remember getting my first pair in 1966 when I was in the 6th form!

And wasn't it a hideous colour? :eek:

I've never mended laddered tights as they usually end up with huge holes, instead of ladders. I don't wear tights any more anyway, but my DD wears them for school, and if she ladders a leg in them I've taught her some frugality and told her to cut off the laddered leg, then she can wear the leg which is left over with another odd leg and nobody will notice the difference!

If you can catch a ladder before it gets big a small dab of clear nail varnish usually delays it travelling any further.

soupdragon10

BILLIE wrote: »

Reading this thread has warmed the cockles of my heart and brought back so many happy memories. My darling mum was a dress maker and I remember her turning collars for the OH's of her clients a job she hated and the sheets being turned S to M. I have boxes of buttons that were from her sewing work rooms, and yes probably zips. Magnetic pin picker-upper! Bringing a lump to my throat.... x

My mum was a dressmaker too - I learned most of my skills from her, and inherited her button tin, mending kits etc. which I still dip into regularly.

Have also inherited loads of fabric (not always to my taste), which gets used for making dog and cat bed covers (i'm not a fan of crimplene for dressmaking, but it is hard wearing and washable and the pets don't mind the colours/patterns).