Old Style Skills

spadoosh

I dont understand the sewing thing. I understand this is OS thread but trying to make your own clothes etc is just not moneysaving. Ignoring the drawbacks (slave labour, not sure if they still do it) but any clothing can be bought for cheaper than making clothes at primark.

I know how to cross stitch (very poorly) but ive never ever had to do it unless you include tying 2 tarps together!?

I think the best skill most people can have is DIY skills. If your good at DIY generally it make you better at problem solving and you can see how things work around the home. The amount of people i see on here asking what trade they need for putting up a fence, and asking if quotes are fair to install laminate etc etc it just seems so daft. Im aware some people are more restricted with time but in the time it takes to ring for quotes, have the fitter round, recv quote, posting on forum to see if its fair, waiting for replies the job blatantly couldve been done.There is only one thing im afraid to do in my house and thats gas obvious reasons but things like running a spur, changing a tap, fitting appliances are just common sense if you read the instructions and take your time!

Other useful skills in modern society:
Arithmatic (obviously for MS)
Gardening (GYO again MS)
Computer literate (bargain hunting and time management)
Being able to cook a decent meal

i know people who go to the gym 7 times a week to keep fit and then feed themselves rubbish and its like whats the point?!?! me and my missus never go to a gym but eat very well, fresh produce and balanced foods and are prefectly healthy and you also find the more rubbish in your diet the more drained you feel
Maybe im jsut an eternal optimist but im one of those annoying people thats pretty much always happy and im sure its down to my diet.

maryb

Knowing how to make clothes is still a useful skill to have if you have children - even if it just to make costumes. And the days of ultra cheap clothes won't last forever - it's an historical aberration which depended on cheap oil. I would not be at all surprised if it became cost effective again especially if you want decent quality at an affordable price. Even now, I can buy a metre of Armani pure new wool, highest quality going for £40 through a chap who does textile fairs and a few markets. You need 80cm plus the same in lining to make a straight skirt suitable for wearing to work with a smart jacket. Cost including zip just under £40. The majority of women's skirts on the M&S website are in the £35 to £39 bracket. They will be made with cheap fabric which will seat and pill and look tired in a couple of months.

Sewing is one of those skills it takes time and practice to acquire - you can't get there in a hurry so I would still recommend learning how so that you have the skill when you need it - in the meantime use it for home furnishings where there really is a saving to be made

valk_scot

spadoosh wrote: »

I dont understand the sewing thing. I understand this is OS thread but trying to make your own clothes etc is just not moneysaving. Ignoring the drawbacks (slave labour, not sure if they still do it) but any clothing can be bought for cheaper than making clothes at primark.

Oh, I agree and I think I did say that, yes? But on top of that sewing skills are incredibly useful when it comes to mending, or making things fit better. There are people who will chuck out a perfectly good garment because it has lost a button and they don't know how to sew on another or change the set. Who can't put a new zip into a plain skirt, or put the hem back up when it unravels, or mend a seam if the stitches break. All of these are simple hand sewing jobs that would take (in the case of the zip) at most half an hour. Also, if you're into charity shop clothes shopping like me you can mend or adjust really quite high quality clothes readily...I bought a pure cashmere black coat a couple of years ago for £5, for example, one button missing and too long in the sleeves. It took me three hours to redo the sleeves to my satisfaction and change the buttons, but it was worth it for such a beautiful coat. If I couldn't sew at all I'd have had to leave it in the shop.

And lets not get into the relative cost of making curtains and soft furnishings v buying them ready made, or even things like kids fancy dress costumes. And I made my own wedding dress. But I do agree, for most clothes it's far cheaper to buy them in the high street shops. Unless of course you're going for higher end fabrics and clothes that actually fit properly of course.

valk_scot

Margaret52129 wrote: »

Apart from the spinning and gardening - this is me too! We're not related are we!!! LOL

I doubt it, considering my sister is another one of these folk who can't sew on a button!

Ballymackeonan

I think that a useful OS skill is seeing the possibilities in things - not just to "make do and mend" but to re-use things for an entirely different purpose. That way, if you can sew, you can have something totally unique for very little. I'm a novice at machine sewing, but have made a 1970s-style skirt recently for the £2 it cost for a piece of heavy tweed at a carboot. I'm now eyeing some heavy gold velvet curtains at a local CS. Velvet is back in this autumn, they will produce a coat or a suit. And based on a wartime "hints and tips" I'm checking around the CSs for silk ties that can be unpicked and used to put a luxury edging on things.

At this time of year, I used to go blackberry-picking with my country-born grandmother, I've been doing that for the last few years, but whereas she'd have been making vats of jam, I freeze them and use them for blackberry and apple right through the winter

Memory_Girl

spadoosh wrote: »

I dont understand the sewing thing. I understand this is OS thread but trying to make your own clothes etc is just not moneysaving. Ignoring the drawbacks (slave labour, not sure if they still do it) but any clothing can be bought for cheaper than making clothes at primark.

You know I going to disagree - sort of, kind of, maybe:D

I've been challenged to dress my toddler for the next three years by "Make Do and Mending" - and I have been buying great quality trousers and shirts from the pound racks of local charity shop and have created him a whole wardrobe of trouser, shorts, shirts, pjs and knitted stuff for less that £16.

The fabric is all Next and M & S quality stuff and was all made whilst TV watching or radio listening in the evening - so a great Money saving project - and my stuff doesn't fall apart at the seams after a couple of washes.

The only thing I have done for myself was tuning a gorgeous pair of Next baby-cords into a great skirt - but as the skirt cost 50p and it took me an hour I still think it was pretty cost effective.

Buying new fabric CAN be pretty expensive of course - but the fabric for this years Xmas frock cost £1.50 from a charity shop too.

My best skills - being able to cook - saved me and the boys a fortune over the year ..............

............... but REALLY the best skill? The ability to think "How can I learn how to do that?" That's where the mega savings have come from.

MG

[Deleted User]

I can cook ,budget sew (as long as its just split seams or a botton ) really would rather not, but I have a dear friend who is a whizz at sewing and for a HM cake she will sew anything up for me I never ever got the hang of sewing machines for some reason But I can knit and do so everyday (I knit for a charity) I can but don't anymore garden (joint problems ) DIY (joint problems again ) tile a room and do minor electrical bits replace bulbs,fuses ,wire a plug etc.My DGS think I am the fount of all knowledge for some reason and the youngest just thinks I am brilliant bless him 'cos I don't spend money on them I spend time and know lots of rhymes,songs and can help him to make and fly a kite and for the 15 year old I can bowl a mean slow spin ball at cricket.So all sorts of handy skills which have got me through two daughters and seven grandchildren :)

Butterfly_Brain

The skills that I have been teaching my DD and DS since they were very young are

• How to save and budget.
• How to cook tasty, nutricious meals cheaply from scratch.
• DH has taught them DIY and general household jobs such as changing bulbs, tap washers, how to change plugs, what to do when the fuse trips, unblock sinks, toilets etc.
• I have taught them how to clean cheaply and to use vinegar, bicarb etc.
• They can both knit, crochet and sew.
• Introduced them to this site for lots of useful information.

I think that these sort of skills should be taught at school because not all parents have the time or skills to do this at home. I did because it was more important for me to be with my children when they were growing up.

euronorris

Whatever happened to teaching these things in school? They are invaluable! The first secondary school I went to had a home-ec class, but it was all cooking and only seemed to be dessert based! The second one I went to (I changed after the first year) did not have a home -ec class at all!

My parents were pretty good at teaching me how to do basic sewing, knitting, gardening and basic cooking. But despite being OS themselves, didn't teach me much in the way of budgeting (it has been a self taught skill that was long overdue). Changing fuses and wiring a plug was taught in school, in science class though, admittedly I don't remember much of that and would have to refer to the internet now to do it, if OH wasn't around (he's an engineer luckily for me!).

I did learn to make do, and recycle things from my parents though. And by recycle I mean hand me downs mostly, as that is what we had to do for a very long time in order to get by. I didn't have new clothes until I was a teenager I think, and that was only because I caught up to my sisters too quickly! lol

I think sometimes parents think they are being kind to their kids by giving them what they didn't have, without realising that they are taking something away at the same time....invaluable knowledge! My OH didn't know how to boil an egg until recently, because his Mum never taught him (and Dad was and still is never around) as she wanted to do everything for him and his brother. I didn't realise this for ages as he knew how to do a chicken stir fry, so I assumed he would know how to boil an egg. Turns out, he only knew how to do the stir fry thanks to his ex gf, so needless to say he's getting some lessons now, but it's taking time to build his confidence in that area. Gets quite upset when he takes a cake out of the oven too quickly and then it falls, then wants to start all over! Soooo, not necessary! Shove it back in the oven for a little longer to ensure it's all cooked through, and then cut the top off, add the butter icing, and rearrange the cut off bits to make a shape (I made a heart this time, soppy mare that I am!) and hey presto, cake rescued. It all tastes the same in the end. Presentation is not as important as taste!

My sewing skills need improvement though. I know the basics, but I'm not very good at it, and would love a sewing machine. Not affordable right now though.

Lazy_Liz

I think my best money saving skill is cooking.
I would like to be better at maths so I can make sure that the offers are as good as they seem. It took me ages the other day to see that an increase of 20% is the same as an increase from 5% to 6%

I grow plants from seed but this can work out about the same as buying young plants for veg due to the cost of compost, it is cheaper for perenial plants if you don't count your own time and why would I? this is my hobby and a pleasure.

I learnt to change a light bulb in Brownies and to wire a plug in the Guides (although I once blew up an Italian plug I wired incorrectly:eek:)
Yes I can buld flat pack furniture and so can DH. We once had so many Billy bookcases to build we timed ourselves and I think our last one was done in 13 mins. They are still standing!

I can sew on buttons and repair a hem or seam but that's my lot but I know a good seamstress who isnot too expensive and she has adjusted soem of my more expensive clothes rather than throw them out.