2019 Fashion on the Ration Challenge

thriftwizard

Warmer here today, now it's rained! I'm back in jumpers & warm skirts; I love summer & I'm not ready to say goodbye to it yet, but I'm sorting out my winter wardrobe already. I really don't need anything new, I have plenty - if not too much! - though I may make a thing or two... out of reclaimed fabric or yarn, of course!

But at the moment I'm still working towards the Needlework Festival in a couple of weeks, turning old shirts from the recycler's warehouse into all manner of garments & useful things. The only problem is that OH & the assorted DSs keep making off with the best shirts... DS2 snaffled two yesterday which would have cost over £80 new (which they pretty much were) and this is the boy who, when he was a teenager, refused to wear a shirt I'd replaced a cuff button on, in case anyone realised it wasn't new!

Crafty_Lisa_Hampshire

I finished sorting through my chest of drawers last night. This was a job I knew I had to do but just hadn't got round to it. I was surprised because I still managed to find things in there that I hadn't worn for a while or didn't fit well even thought I have a complete household declutter once a year. I definitely do not need any more gym gear, socks or nightclothes. I could do with some "slouchy" trousers which I have got some fabric already that I could use to make them with and I may have to consider getting some new bras but I want to try and get hold of some "sustainable" ones. I can hold out for a while though.


Now the colder weather has arrived I have moved the summer clothes to the back of the wardrobe and brought the winter ones forward so I can get to them easier. I have also found some items of clothes that need some repairs doing so that is in a pile in the lounge to work through.


I have had no more spends as yet so I am still at 38 coupons spent. I wonder if I can get away with not spending any more of the 28 coupons I have left. Probably not but it might be a fun challenge to give myself.

Laura_Elsewhere

Lisa, I'm finding that as I get into the last third of the year with 22 coupons intact, I am really really not wanting to spend them!

My most-often-worn jumper is wearing out, huge patches under the arms wearing paper-thin. I can't really darn such large areas and it's pretty scruffy and old-looking in various ways, so... it's on its last winter.

BUT I can knit another one! Only - oh no, the yarn costs coupons... aha, check in yarn cupboard. Oh. Buggrit, no chance of a jumper's worth of Aran, even worsted weight. But... wait... there's a whole load of laceweight that I've never found a use for - a load of wild undyed silk from Texere from years back, and three different lots of alpaca-silk laceweight, and, and, and...

But they're not the colours I want!

Aha, they are all natural fibres, though - a few wool but mostly silk or alpaca or a blend. So - out with the microwave and some white vinegar and the food colouring and... bingo, a range of shades in the rich crimson to bright chestnut to warm rich brown... lovely! I can hold multiple strands together, changing one or two every few rounds, and it should work...!

Laura_Elsewhere

Editing won't let me add a photo - but here are my food-colouring colours! the red is a richer deeper crimson than this, but the bright chestnut and the rich brown are pretty accurate on two screens I've looked at them on.

Great fun, very cheap AND no coupons to use up yarn I already have by dyeing it so it works with others!

PipneyJane

Laura, those colours are lovely.

I have completely lost the plot! I had a half written post from yesterday, which has vanished into the ether. Something about tidying the spare room emphasising that I have enough yarn to open a shop. Certainly there’s sufficient sock yarn to knit about 20 pairs of socks - and that’s not including the stuff earmarked for jumpers.

Anyway, what killed the post was that I got distracted trying to work out how many coupons I’’d spent on yarn this year. I really must track better. I went back through the posts and had only got as far back as May, at which point I’d spent at least 50 coupons on yarn. I’ve tried working it out backwards: 3 pairs of jeans (18 coupons), 5 pairs of knickers (10 coupons); two pairs of shoes (10 coupons - I bought another pair of loafers last week, not declared). Did I buy anything else clothes wise? That’s a total of 38 coupons on clothing. If that was all, then it means I’ve spent 70 coupons on yarn!!!

I really must stop. I don’t knit that fast! I hereby declare that I am going Cold Sheep until 2021. No yarn purchases, unless it is a) a skein needed to finish a project, or b) purchased with a gift voucher (Hobbycraft’s £5 vouchers included).

- Pip

CapricornLass

Those are lovely colours, Laura. I must admit, I've never thought of using food dyes for colouring fibres!

Laura_Elsewhere

CapricornLass wrote: »

Those are lovely colours, Laura. I must admit, I've never thought of using food dyes for colouring fibres!

It only works on animal fibres ie wool, silk, cashmere, alpaca....

I soak the yarn for 30 minutes in white vinegar and water, then add the food colouring - best to take the yarn out, and get the food colouring really well-dissolved, no lumps to give patchy results (unless you want patchy results, of course!). Add more vinegar if needs be, so the yarn has plenty of liquid around it, maybe half- or 3/4-covered.

Then I ping it in the microwave - but you mustn't boil it. So I ping it for 30 seconds (tiny test batch in only a mug of water) or a couple of minutes (wound skeins in a pyrex lidded casserole dish) and leave it for 5-10 minutes, then ping it briefly... just keep the temp high but not constantly boiling.
When the liquid goes clear, you know it's taken up all the dye. Leave it to cool (I generally leave it out overnight to cool right down), then rinse and wash til it's clear. This is the bit that makes it colour-fast, so keep washing and rinsing. I usually leave it to soak at the end and find just a bit more dye leaches out... never give it a temperature-shock though, cold water only on cold yarn, never take it from hot water to cold or vice versa or it'll shrink!

I's great fun!

you can dye non-protein fibres but you need different dyes and they are no at all food-safe so you need special pots and tongs and so on that are never used for food. One thing I enjoy about ping-dyeing is that everything is food-safe so I just use the big pyrex lidded dish...

Laura_Elsewhere

PipneyJane wrote: »

I really must stop. I don’t knit that fast! I hereby declare that I am going Cold Sheep until 2021. No yarn purchases, unless it is a) a skein needed to finish a project, or b) purchased with a gift voucher (Hobbycraft’s £5 vouchers included).

- Pip

Woah.

I've heard of people going Cold Sheep but I've never known anyone do it. You're pretty brave.

If you're really sure about this, I'll back you all the way. You can do it, we know you can do it!

Crafty_Lisa_Hampshire

PipneyJane wrote: »

Laura, those colours are lovely.

I really must stop. I don’t knit that fast! I hereby declare that I am going Cold Sheep until 2021. No yarn purchases, unless it is a) a skein needed to finish a project, or b) purchased with a gift voucher (Hobbycraft’s £5 vouchers included).

- Pip

Good luck with your personal "Cold Sheep" challenge.

PipneyJane

Crafty_Lisa_Hampshire wrote: »

Good luck with your personal "Cold Sheep" challenge.

Laura_Elsewhere wrote: »

Woah.

I've heard of people going Cold Sheep but I've never known anyone do it. You're pretty brave.

If you're really sure about this, I'll back you all the way. You can do it, we know you can do it!

It’s doable so long as I avoid going to craft/yarn shows and delete emails from certain suppliers. No Knit-and-Stitch Show for me this year or next, unless I’m only going for classes and to meet up with friends. (No plans for this year anyway.)

I’ve just thought of a potential problem: Derapoints. Unless you purchase stuff from Deramores (I think) once a year, you lose your Derapoints. Hmmm... I will have to be disciplined and only buy tools or a pattern. (Do they stock KnitPro needles? I can always do with an extra cable.)

- Pip



PS: Re points excluding yarn, I’d forgotten the navy cardigan I purchased earlier in the year. That brings my total non-yarn coupon spend to 43, which would have left me with just enough coupons to buy another suit for work. I have a 20% off voucher from Hobbs that I’m considering spending - the Next suit I scored in a charity shop in 2012 is looking shabby. It’s been worn weekly for years. To my eyes, the wear on the lapels is visible.