Wartime recipes, substitutions and other related austerity hints

luxor4t

In South Wales, according to my mother (84 ), women wore a "cross over pinny" which went over your clothes - or just over your petticoat , depending on the weather/ clothing coupons.

https://www.google.com/search?q=1940s+crossover+pinny&oq=cross+over+pinny&aqs=chrome.1.69i57j0.8360j0j4&sourceid=silk&ie=UTF-8#imgrc=q8LotCh8tmzcZM:

My grandmother's 'house dress' was always her oldest dress with a pinny or later, a nylon button-through overall, on top.

As the cross-border were adjustable they where useful when pregnant - wartime maternity advice was to use a bit of elastic to hold your normal skirt up!

Primrose

I remember those old pinnies. Clothes were in short supply in those days. My mother's entire wartime clothes ownership could be contained in one half of a small double wardrobe and the same old item would be worn for housework every day, protected by an apron of some kind as hot water wasn't generally available for clothes washing more than once a week.

Owain_Moneysaver

luxor4t wrote: »

In South Wales, according to my mother (84 ), women wore a "cross over pinny" which went over your clothes - or just over your petticoat , depending on the weather/ clothing coupons.

Welsh national costume is floral pinny and wellies.

Eenymeeny

I remember pinnies always being worn while working in the house. My Mother had really old ones for the dirty jobs like cleaning the oven or laying the fire and clean ones handy 'in case someone like the doctor called!' Seems strange to us now doesn't it? Old dresses were made into pinnies when they'd become shabby to wear as a dress. Recycling at it's best!
I do still keep a pinny hung in the kitchen to protect my clothes while doing dirty jobs! Easier than trying to get grease marks out of good clothes...

luxor4t

Owain_Moneysaver wrote: »

Welsh national costume is floral pinny and wellies.

I think I just hurt myself laughing - I was defrosting the freezer just now wearing exactly that (well, I had grabbed my striped pinny as that was the nearest ) . I'm in South Wales so......:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

buildersdaughter

I still wear pinnies a lot of the time! I am dreadfully messy and cannot cook without getting ingredients all over me!
For modern wear, I find a 'florists' apron' better than the old 'cross-over' because the gape is at the back rather than the front. I got an old one, and took it apart to make the pattern, and now I make them myself. No fiddling with tying tapes. I think it quite stylish!

-taff

I have my grandmothers pinny folded up for use when I'm small enough to wearit. Since she was 5ft and I'm 5ft 8, Imight have to wait a while.....
It's exactly the cross over style that was linked to too

lucyhope

I wear a pinny when I'm baking, I'm such a mucky pup, flour and icing sugar jump out of the bowl and all over my clothes!!!

THIRZAH

I always wear a pinny when cooking or doing housework.My daughters laughed at me because I took a couple on holiday with me when we were renting a cottage in the summer.


Would love a wrap around pinny like my granny used to wear. She never did any housework as she couldn't walk far or stand up for more than a minutes but still put her pinny on in the morning.

monnagran

My granny also always wore a wraparound pinny, which she always took off before watching television. She combed her hair too as she was convinced that the people on the screen could see her as well as she could see them. When the Queen gave her speech on Christmas Day, Granny stood to attention dipping her head reverentially.