2019 Fashion on the Ration Challenge

Sayschezza

Laura_Elsewhere wrote: »

Well... given my morally-reprehensible close relationship last autumn/winter with those spivs, I'm not going to be casting nasturtiums at you!

But I bet you still end up buying less than you would have done if not counting your coupons, and I bet next year you buy yet less...

I still have hope of making it to Dec without resorting to spivs, but I'm definitely doing better than last year!

I think you maybe correct because I think of this thread every time I log in to JLuis.

grunnie

I love reading this thread. I can't sew but you have made me think twice before something goes in the charity shop bag. i hav e a favourite jacket and the lining has gone and i am going to take the !ining from another and had sew it into the one i like. Snow today so that is my plan for this afternoon. Will let you know how I got on.

PipneyJane

thriftwizard wrote: »

I haven't spent any coupons yet! Which is mainly because of circumstances - confined to home by some medical treatment, which will last until the end of February & is wiping me out - but is allowing me time & space to think what I do really need.

((((( Thriftwizard ))))).

I can’t remember if I’ve wished you well for your treatment, but I do. I’ve been quietly cheering from the sidelines whenever you post about it.

I love that tee, PipneyJane, and am wondering whether even my limited knitting skills might be up to it; DS2 is moving the last of his stuff out over this weekend and amazingly I've just found I have a drawer full of beautiful Rowan cotton yarn, left over from another bargain job-lot a couple of years back, just before he moved back in with us... So far my knitting has been limited to dishcloths and scarves, though I can manage a few fancy stitches, so I might be brave & try it. It'd look great at the vintage shows...

Go for it! If you can knit and purl, you have the skills to knit that tee. The sweetheart neckline on the original pattern is created entirely by running a thread through the back of some stitches and gathering it together. If you get stuck with any of the instructions at any time, just post here and either Laura or I will clarify their meaning.

This is the second time I knitted that tee and I made a couple of modifications: I added short rows at the front to enhance the sweetheart neckline and I added elbow-length sleeves (created by picking up stitches from the armhole and knitting down). I hope I have the mods written on the pattern - I need to add them to my Ravelry page.

I'm despairing of the wool cardi; turns out that "Colleen" needs 9 skeins in my size, well over what I've got. I've found a number of shawl patterns that are nice enough and within my limits, but I weave & crochet shawls and have more than I can wear already! Might list that lot on Ebay at a sensible price & let someone else have all the fun.

Is “Colleen” this pattern? How much Cascade 220 do you have? (Yardage, please.) Crochet uses considerably more yarn than knitting for the same space - it’s much thicker - since you knit, we may be able to find you a knitting pattern that’d be suitable.

For all who might be wondering why I have so much yarn stashed; it's a part of my little "vintage" business. Needlecrafts were big, something that everyone did backalong, and I always have old patterns (many of which go to cardmakers, cheaper than buying "toppers" and often much funnier/prettier...) decent needles and yarns & threads like Motoravia or Lyscordet for people to play with. A couple of local charity shops offer me needlecraft-related things they haven't been able to sell, and I give them more than the ragman would, so it works all round. And sometimes there are some amazing bargains; the Rowan yarns came from a shop that was closing down, and the little hospital shop was swamped. Most of them I sold straight on, but a few found their way into my stash awaiting the perfect project. Who wouldn't...?

I would love to browse your stall. Please let us know when you’re back in the swing of things.

- Pip

Laura_Elsewhere

I'm having a few days of Non-Specific Bleurghy, and my chap has to be out all today/evening, so I have tucked myself up in bed with a hot-water-bottle and a cold drink, and a cosy cardi, and a big A4 pad of paper, pencil and pencil sharpener, my fabric and yarn catalogues, and my Pinterest boards on my laptop.

Time to go through, looking at what I think I could look like, clothes-wise, and then work out what I have and don't have, and why not, and then what I actually already do have but it's still in the form of yarn and fabric!

For instance, I have the cotton green and white checked vintage curtains to turn into one of these, as a skirt and blouse, and a camisole, so I have two dresses, depending on which top I wear... but I also have something stupid like five yards of good quality cotton fabric, Rose & Hubble iirc, which I bought ridiculously cheap, and can use to make a wearable-muslin of this, so any mistakes don't happen with the green fabric which I really love! And I shall then have two really nice warmer-weather skirts that will look fine with vest-tops or t-shirts or plain blouses, and which can be worn as a short-dress or as a sundress!

I just need to organise my dressmaking time this year properly. I even have the pattern already for the skirts, as I made one two years ago that I rarely wear because I made it a bit short and it has no pockets (so I know what to alter this time!).

This dress (which is my kind of "mental sketch of the style") is from "unique vintage" but not in my price-range... but it's a useful aide-memoire to get me sewing - at 17 stone and tall, I've got to be realistic about what I can wear and feel comfortable in, and jeans and old saggy tops are not what I WANT to wear and feel comfortable in!

thriftwizard

Is “Colleen” this pattern? How much Cascade 220 do you have? (Yardage, please.)

Yes! I have something over 1,000 yds - 880 in the 4 skeins, and a number of part-balls. But in my size (M/L - not tall but big on top) it requires 9 skeins. I'm amusing myself crocheting a tea-cosy to match the afghan for DS2 & his lady (who adores tea) and am actually finding Cascade a bit "splitty" for crochet, so it may just end up being sold on. OTOH, that's 2 x 7' tri-shawls (@ 440 yds each plus fringing) which would look amazing; I do sell those from time to time but currently have nowhere to hang the 7' tri-loom!

It all comes down to the amount & direction of the twist... when I'm spinning for crochet, I spin tighter and usually in the reverse direction to the usual, i.e. spin S - ply Z, or just a single spun Z. It's almost impossible to find commercial yarns done that way round!

PollyWollyDoodle

Gosh thriftwizard that sounds very technical - I knit and crochet but don't know that much about yarn.

Laura, as ever you're inspiring me. I never actually sit and analyse my wardrobe. I'm also taking up your idea about setting up an eBay search for shoes - I've been looking for some ankle boots at a price I can afford without success, hadn't considered that you can often get new stuff on there. Hope you feel better soon.

BabyStepper

I may have to spend some coupons on another couple of jumpers. My favourite one has been worn to death and is now ready for the bin and another I bought just before Christmas has turned into an unwearable rag. I'm quite annoyed, but I'll try to take it back to the shop and swap it for something else so it won't count.

Wish I knew how to knit one. Ah well, maybe in the next life. You are all so talented on this thread, well done!

Laura_Elsewhere

BabyStepper wrote: »

I may have to spend some coupons on another couple of jumpers. My favourite one has been worn to death and is now ready for the bin and another I bought just before Christmas has turned into an unwearable rag. I'm quite annoyed, but I'll try to take it back to the shop and swap it for something else so it won't count.

Wish I knew how to knit one. Ah well, maybe in the next life. You are all so talented on this thread, well done!

Good luck with demanding a swap - worth reading the section in MSE on your Statutory Rights, because iirc an item has to be ft for purpose for a reasonable length of time, usually 6 to 12 months, so fingers crossed, a full refund or replacement! And no new coupons...!

A jumper probably takes more coupons to knit than to buy, sadly... BUT... it isn't difficult to learn to knit. Honest, guv! I didn't learn til I was in my 30s, and I knitted my first jumper about two years later (admittedly, it fitted dreadfully so was unravelled and the wool used for other stuff, but that was a problem with the pattern, not my knitting!)

Ask around and see if you know anyone, or your friends know anyone, who'd be willing to meet up once a month or week and help you learn to knit a jumper for next winter! If you use decent Aran-weight quality wool, it should last for years, and be even warmer because of the warm glow of achievement!

p.s. I always recommend starting by knitting armwarmers, those simple tubes with a thumb-slit, because if you can knit those, you can knit a jumper, but they're very very quick to give you a feeling of having MADE something!

threepenny_bit

I would love to join - I have a wardrobe full of 'too small' clothes that I am trying to wear again one day I dont want to buy any more big stuff and so am eating better and trying hard to get those clothes back into circulation. I have bought a hoodie this year so far so 5 coupons gone. I am coming back tot he UK for a vacation and need to go to M&S for undergarments lol! Looks like I need to buy thongs rather than cover up knickers It will be fun to try this and my bank balance will thank me too.

ahw23

Laura-Elsewhere: your inspiration dress looks super and I like the idea of two alternative coordinating tops. I'd like to do something similar to stretch the utility of what I sew. My two main obstacles are invariably getting remnants rather than enough for multiple garments, and not really liking separates as much as dresses.