What is your charity shop bargain of the week?

silvasava

Pollycat - not sure if you already know but......if you are going to shorten your Jersey maxi dress - turn it up and tack in place, machine round the bottom about 1.5cm from the edge, then go round again as close to the edge as you can. This will give the hem some 'body' THEN cut off the excess fabric. If you cut Jersey before hemming its very likely to curl/ stretch or both! HTH x

Pollycat

silvasava wrote: »

Pollycat - not sure if you already know but......if you are going to shorten your Jersey maxi dress - turn it up and tack in place, machine round the bottom about 1.5cm from the edge, then go round again as close to the edge as you can. This will give the hem some 'body' THEN cut off the excess fabric. If you cut Jersey before hemming its very likely to curl/ stretch or both! HTH x

Thanks very much for this. :T
Yes, I did know, I've been sewing for 45 years & have shortened many a M&S jersey maxi dress.
I agree that jersey can be a nightmare to sew but I love it because it's so flattering.
I noticed the paper inspection label was still intact on the care label so clearly not been washed (& not whiffy )

I over-estimated.
I only had to shorten the dress by 7-and-a-half inches! :eek:
It's even nicer that I first thought.
It was on a model in the window of the RSPCA shop & I was running late in meeting OH & friends. Went in, asked the size & price & bought it without even trying it on. They said I could have a credit note if I changed my mind.
I think it will be my favourite maxi - plus I have lots of short cardis in various colours to wear with it.
That's me sorted for the summer.

Also thanks to carlamarie for the info on the Shopaholic books. Will keep an eye open for the last 2.

Thanks to you both. :T

charlies-aunt

silvasava wrote: »

Pollycat - not sure if you already know but......if you are going to shorten your Jersey maxi dress - turn it up and tack in place, machine round the bottom about 1.5cm from the edge, then go round again as close to the edge as you can. This will give the hem some 'body' THEN cut off the excess fabric. If you cut Jersey before hemming its very likely to curl/ stretch or both! HTH x

Thanks for this tip - I am a keen but very novice sewer and have got disheartened trying to alter jersey outfits because of the problem of getting woffly edges however careful I tried to be.... so its good to know this will solve my problems

VfM4meplse

Had the pleasure of working in Hammersmith today, where they have not one but FIVE chazzers along a short stretch of road (BHF, CRUK, Shelter, a hospice shop and Oxfam IIRC).

Bought another 5 books to add to the collection. Not cheap though (£2-£3 each), based on local pricing I didn't actually look at anything else.

Georgiegirl256

A pair of Mantaray Camo shorts for DH for £3.50 from The Samaritans and a Crane lightweight running jacket in grey & luminous yellow for myself for £3.75 from the Salvation Army.

silvasava

Haha Polly - you know all about knits then - Crimplene etal!!! Hope you didn't mind me saying as I've just shortened a Jersey maxi dress for a friend. So glad it was useful to you Charlie's Aunt .

dragonlily

I have just nought a lovely pale orange / peach slim line handbag with long strap for £2.99. It is not leather but leather look in lovely condition. I am on a mission to establish a navy based capsule wardrobe so it will be a sweet accessory .

Bogof_Babe

VfM - do you read all the books you buy as quickly as you buy more? Where do you keep them all? Do you donate them back when you have read them?

I imagine your home being like a college library, surrounded with floor-to-ceiling bookshelves, and a portable ladder to reach them all! :rotfl:

Smoosh

I got a few things whilst visiting my parents last week. Shops in their area are pricier, but since it's a nicer area I tend to find better brands or items in a better state, so I don't mind paying more.

I got:

- A red Nike tank top with an inbuilt sports bra. Paid £5, RRP around £30. It was a bit more than I would usually pay for a CS top, but it feels like very good quality. I usually pay a similar price for gym clothes from Primark, which don't always last very long.
- A very 60s style a line dress. It's a sort of pinky-orange coral colour with coloured flowers all over it and a white collar. I think it was around £6, the label says Ribbon, which I've never heard of and can't find anything like it online, so no idea where it's from or it's original cost.
- A cropped white t shirt with frilly sleeves and a dipped back. Just a basic for summer really. Originally from H&M, so wouldn't have been expensive anyway, but I liked it and think it was around £3.
- A long sleeved white top, shorter at the front with a longer back and the sleeves are lace. This was originally from Primark, which I usually avoid, but it was so pretty and it still had it's original tags, so had obviously never been worn. I paid £3.95, its original price was £8.
- Another very basic white top, this time from Next. It's cotton and has buttons all the way down the back and the front has pretty white embroidered flowers. I think it was around £4, I guess it would've been £20-30 in Next?
- Lastly, my favourite, a blue Boden shirt. I don't actually own any shirts, but I quite like how they look, plus I figure a well made shirt will last me a long time It's such a pretty shape. It was £6 which is more than I'd usually pay, but similar ones on their website are £40-50, so I'm very happy with it!

I saw lots of dresses that I loved, but they were just too expensive. The staff in one shop also annoyed me because they keep all the bags behind the till so you can't really see them and they wouldn't let me look at them, don't know how they ever expect to sell any with that attitude! :huh:

Pollycat

carlamarie wrote: »

there is actually two more after this in the shopaholic series 'shopaholic to the stars' and 'shopaholic to the rescue'

hopefully youll come across these two soon enough.

HaHa!

I bought 'Shopaholic to the Stars' from our hospice shop yesterday. :rotfl: