2019 Fashion on the Ration Challenge

lykkelig

Thank you for the welcome. Your thread has been an insightful education over the course of yesterday and today so much so that I'm putting a lot of thought into my previous clothing habits, intend on searching 1940's on Ravelry as I am a knitter and I'm condisering a whole different, not necessarily new, approach to building myself a wardrobe that works for me.

I am moving to comfort shorts next year. I wear trousers in hot weather and too old to deal with overheating. The only problem is I can only find one brand who name them Chub Rub and I don't want to invest in something, however inclusive, that makes me pull a face of negativity. Does anyone have other alternatives?

The Spencer pattern is too small for me but it has ignited a wish to investigate making something similar for either the tail end of this winter or next winter. My knowledge of fine, skin appropriate yarns is non existent so I'm hoping you could help me when I get to that stage.

Laura_Elsewhere

lykkelig wrote: »

I am moving to comfort shorts next year. I wear trousers in hot weather and too old to deal with overheating. The only problem is I can only find one brand who name them Chub Rub and I don't want to invest in something, however inclusive, that makes me pull a face of negativity. Does anyone have other alternatives?

.

Oh my specialist subject!

I now have the comfiest legs all year round, and it's a lot more comfortable than the bought things which ALL seem to assume I want to be compressed and squeezed to look less fat! I don't care about looking an inch less plump, I just want to feel comfortable!

What I've done for years now is to buy cotton leggings. Usually I buy a size larger and then stitch a couple of pleats either side at the back, so they're a little looser than leggings usually are.

then I chop the legs off - I have some almost knee-length for cooler weather (I wear long over-the-knee stockings that overlap nicely and keep me warm in cold weather; the long-stockings are tights cut off at the hip, held by diy-garters!), and I have some shorter ones that I wear in summer.

If you jsut chop leggings off, the edge curls up and makes an uncomfortable ridge, so I stretch the leg over a useful chopping board that's just the right dimensions, and sew a bit of lace edging onto the stretched cotton legging. then when I wear it, the lace edging stops it rolling up and looks prettier than just chopped leggings.

I used to buy edging lace - I searched eBay for wide cotton crochet edging, and you find a range of machine-made stuff, but do wash it and dry it before cutting and sewing it as it does shrink a bit!
Now I make my own edging lace with cotton thread and an old 1891 crochet pattern that's surprisingly simple to do from memory, on buses, on trains, etc... I wanted to use brighter colours and recently unearthed some very thin , very 'ecru',raw silk yarn, thinner than laceweight, and looking more like very thin string than anything else, not terribly attractive in its own right - so I'm using that at the moment, and can then dye it deep crimson in the microwave with food colouring and white vinegar

The leggings wear through eventually, so I sometimes use the cut-off legs to make a long rectangle and sew that on the inside legs.
I'm just starting to think about making my own from scratch, from fabric I already have, as I have quite a bit of linen, from my historical re-enactment days, and that would really keep me cool in hot weather - and in the next few years I am expecting to be running my own internal heating system with the menopause, so linen 'long-legs' as I call them could be very useful then!

lykkelig

I like that you've found a problem and looked to fix it your self. They sound pretty and not like the cycling type shorts I've seen. I am reluctant because they look like the squeeze into the skin, and under layers of padding if you get my meaning, and that idea just makes me deeply uncomfortable.

Why o why aren't there any Victorian bloomers around these days. I think I'm joking. I'm not sure.

Laura_Elsewhere

Well, I started off wearing original Victorian ones, but I wanted ones I could put in a normal machine-wash without feeling huge guilt for destroying fine lawn and delicate lace!

You can make your own old-fashioned undies - there are modern patterns for historical re-enactors!

I think I want the 1920s-30s style "directoire" knickers, rather than Victorian long drawers, but there are lots of patterns:

This is the classic one used a lot by American Civil War re-enactors https://www.sewessential.co.uk/misses-civil-war-undergarments-simplicity-sewing-pattern-1139

This 1920s combination pattern is gorgeous! https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/263489925828

And this site, Reconstructing History, has oodles of 'em from many centuries! https://reconstructinghistory.com/product-category/underwear-patterns/

And you needn't worry about a gust of wind meaning everyone thinks, "ooh, that weird woman's wearing Victorian undies" because with modern fabrics and trims you can make them look just how you want!

Me, I fancy these for winter, although I'd probably leave the elastic off the bottom edge... and of course for summer, just make 'em shorter!
https://reconstructinghistory.com/product/rh1236-1921-ladies-bloomers/

thriftwizard

Thriftwizard, lanolin allergy isn’t pleasant. I have no idea how much lanolin is removed by scouring, but it must make things hell for a spinner. (Please tell us about your spinning. What type of wheel do you have?)

Depends how much lanolin was in the fleece to start with, and how many times you scour it, if at all! Once I found out that it wasn't a problem for me, I found it's just as easy, if not easier, to spin a cleanish fleece "in the grease" as we say, and wash & dye the resulting yarn afterwards. It does make a bit if a mess of your carders, though.

I have 3 wheels, although they do tend to come & go; the Louet S75 DT is my main everyday wheel, I have a Spinolution Bee for my travel wheel, which I'd take to spinning "events", for example, as it's the most versatile, and a Camelot (or Crofter) for demonstrating in public. I'm supposed to be selling the Camelot on, but she does have a slightly fairytale look that the other two don't, and is still a very practical wheel with a big orifice & generous 4oz bobbins.

Crafty_Lisa_Hampshire

Catherine/kate - I can confirm that I have a smaller wardrobe than I did before I started this challenge mostly because I had a cull and got rid of things that I don't wear any more. I haven't added much to it this year but the bits I have added have been things I needed, that are good quality and have multiple uses for. That is what I am getting from this challenge - just being a bit more thoughtful about what you do spend your money (or coupons) on so that it doesn't get wasted.

diminua

I'm another person who's had a cull since starting this challenge. Before I would have said I didn't have a big wardrobe, and needed to hang onto things I didn't like just in case - but I think I believed that because I wasn't really paying attention. Now I've actually taken stock of what I have (so I can see what I really need to spend coupons on). I've realised I have over a weeks worth of all sorts of things - jumpers and smart casual tops in particular. I'd also somehow forgotten I had an green corduroy jacket and an aran cardigan at the back of the wardrobe. I've never thought of myself as someone who shops for recreation, but clearly clothes have been coming in faster than they wear out.

Laura_Elsewhere

Dental check-up today (no fillings this time, Mum! Ting!) so I went and spent two coupons very deliberately and enjoyably in Ippikin, in Much Wenlock, on 100g of utterly gorgeous undyed cream 'Devonia'4-ply, which is a blend of various good breeds. I may dye some, but it is one of those really rich gorgeous colours of "pale sheep" so I may use it as it is, as the contrast to another yarn.

I haven't docked my last 50g, 1 coupon, so I need to dock 3 coupons off, which should leave me with a startling 16.5 coupons still to go - and at no point have I felt deprived this year! I am amazed that I haven't run into problems...

I am just that much more picky about yarn, fabric, clothing - something has to be really nice to justify spending my precious coupons on it!

catherinekate

Thank you for the welcome!

I think I do follow the "capsule wardrobe" principle and am perhaps worrying unnecessarily about the future! I usually wear dress, cardigan, tights, and I have enough dresses for the foreseeable future (providing I stay the same size). I just find it hard to find good quality cardigans that don't sit oddly on my skinny figure - Primark are the best fit, but generally terrible quality (although I do have a few that have worn very well).

I will be reading along but probably not posting very much in the near future.

thriftwizard

12 coupons spent, after a Good Sort Out revealed a couple of gaps in my wardrobe which could be plugged locally. So I've invested in a knee-length blue tweed-effect skirt to wear over leggings, as it turned out that nearly all of my beloved jumpers are predominately blue, and a pair of lightweight walking shoes; I own a very sturdy pair of walking boots, which do great service slogging through muddy fields, and two pairs of walking sandals, but I'm away with OH this weekend to the Eden Project etc. & wanted something moderately warm but not heavy!

Other "gaps" not likely to be fillable secondhand:- I'll need another pair of navy blue leggings, and I also need an outrageous bright pink bra that I can stitch sequins & other glittery bits onto, for a dance costume. I'd rather find one secondhand as I'll probably only wear it once, but the chances of finding exactly what I need in a 36G are minimal!