2020 Fashion on the Ration Challenge

PipneyJane

TwibbleDee said:

I had to take the 13-year-old shopping, and ended up getting a new sweater.  Long sleeve, machine-knitted, open in the front, not wool.  Am I correct in saying it should be 5 coupons?

And if masks are coupon-free, that does mean that fabric bought specifically for making masks is as well, correct?

Yes and yes.

- Pip  (sorry, got to join a call)

Laura_Elsewhere

TwibbleDee said:

I had to take the 13-year-old shopping, and ended up getting a new sweater.  Long sleeve, machine-knitted, open in the front, not wool.  Am I correct in saying it should be 5 coupons?

And if masks are coupon-free, that does mean that fabric bought specifically for making masks is as well, correct?

I am going to quibble with @PipneyJane - if the jumper is for your 13-yr-old, it depends on whether she is wearing adult sizes or still children's sizes? If she's not full adult sizes yet (regardless of where she buys, children's store or smallest sizes in adult) then it's only 3 coupons, not 5.... plenty of very petite women saved coupons by buying their own clothes in children's departments! 

And agreeing with Pip in the mask fabric - I think it is like blackout fabric was, ie you could buy as much as you could get/afford of it but you could only use it for the black-out on your windows (you know we all had o black out all our doors and windows totally before sundown every evening for six years, and got terrific fines if we showed any light at all, even just from opening the front door, or someone smoking out the back door, or a curtain blown by a gust of wind...)

PipneyJane

Laura_Elsewhere said:

TwibbleDee said:

I had to take the 13-year-old shopping, and ended up getting a new sweater.  Long sleeve, machine-knitted, open in the front, not wool.  Am I correct in saying it should be 5 coupons?

And if masks are coupon-free, that does mean that fabric bought specifically for making masks is as well, correct?

I am going to quibble with @PipneyJane - if the jumper is for your 13-yr-old, it depends on whether she is wearing adult sizes or still children's sizes? If she's not full adult sizes yet (regardless of where she buys, children's store or smallest sizes in adult) then it's only 3 coupons, not 5.... plenty of very petite women saved coupons by buying their own clothes in children's departments! 

And agreeing with Pip in the mask fabric - I think it is like blackout fabric was, ie you could buy as much as you could get/afford of it but you could only use it for the black-out on your windows (you know we all had o black out all our doors and windows totally before sundown every evening for six years, and got terrific fines if we showed any light at all, even just from opening the front door, or someone smoking out the back door, or a curtain blown by a gust of wind...)

I misunderstood re the sweater.  I thought it was for @TwibbleDee and not the 13 year-old.  D'oh!  You are correct, of course, @Laura_Elsewhere.  Children had their own coupons, so the sweater will come from the 13 year-old's ration and not TibbleDee's. 

- PIp 

Laura_Elsewhere

Oops, @PipneyJane - you are right, it is a jumper for @TwibbleDee and not for the 13 yr old, I think! And of course, yes, clothes for the child come from the child's coupons... but clothes for the mother come from the mother's coupons  

I didn't have enough sleep last night!!!  

TwibbleDee

The sweater is indeed for me.

As for the 13-year-old's sizing...well, I might have created a monster by taking her to Lane Bryant (the plus-size).  She's learned that there are clothes out there that are long enough and fit her properly and said that she now wants to do all her shopping there!

thriftwizard

Is a bra "other undergarments"? I've finally worked out what size I'm aiming for & ordered a "proper" one! Well, two actually, but whichever doesn't fit properly will go back. At that point they will hopefully have the matching nether garments back in stock too, so I shall shell out for one of those as well. Now to find some suitable tights, which shouldn't be too hard, then I'm sorted! I'm taking the items I've bought that don't fit, or don't quite fit in, up to my stall tomorrow - the pink suede shoes, the Jacques Vert bolero - & will hopefully not end up out of pocket at all!

Once this is all over, I really will have a go at making knickers out of old t-shirts... I promise!

PipneyJane

thriftwizard said:

Is a bra "other undergarments"? I've finally worked out what size I'm aiming for & ordered a "proper" one! Well, two actually, but whichever doesn't fit properly will go back. At that point they will hopefully have the matching nether garments back in stock too, so I shall shell out for one of those as well. Now to find some suitable tights, which shouldn't be too hard, then I'm sorted! I'm taking the items I've bought that don't fit, or don't quite fit in, up to my stall tomorrow - the pink suede shoes, the Jacques Vert bolero - & will hopefully not end up out of pocket at all!

Once this is all over, I really will have a go at making knickers out of old t-shirts... I promise!

“Other garments including corsets” are 3 coupons, but I reckoned that a bra uses the resources of half a corset so set them at 1.5 coupons each, when I started the Challenge.

Does the section I highlighted mean that you’re back in business, @thriftwizard ?  I hope it goes well.  It’s been a really tough year for you, thanks to the Virus.

- Pip

TwibbleDee

Everything was WET this morning, meaning it got cool enough AND humid enough that we actually hit the dew point.  The last time we did that was probably back in April.

Guess I better get a move on checking my winter clothes.  And by that, I basically mean making sure all my sweaters and my coat are ready to go.  So I can put them on over my sleeveless shirts that I'll still be wearing unless it's actually a COLD day.  We do get some of those.  I might even wear real shoes again, which means I'll need to keep my cowboy boots polished.

Plus there's a skirt I want to make out of a lovely corduroy fabric...  Oh, look!  I found a pattern: https://www.simplicity.com/simplicity-storefront-catalog/our-brands/burda-style/burda-style-pattern-6252-misses-skirts-front-fastening-mini-or-midi-length-with-pocket-variations/

Here's hoping they have it in the store!

Laura_Elsewhere

Wow, in a few more weeks, you are going to have us all hanging on your every word, begging "ell us again abou the heat! Tell us more about this warmth!"  

I love our British autumn and winter, my favourite seasons, but I know lots of folk really pine for warmth...! 

Today it's rained all afternoon, and been only just into the 60s F, mid-teens C (the only conversion I know by heart - 16C and 61F ). 

Laura_Elsewhere

A very very lovely friend misunderstood completely a comment I made elseforum about someday finding some really nice warm red fine-wool flannel - a smooth yet soft woollen fabric often used for suiting - and ever so kindly sent me four huge bright-red flanellette sheets to use to make my skirt - as in brushed cotton! Soooo kind of him, but just soooo not what I meant and no, I can't really make a skirt out of them either... but I am planning to see if I can make some 3/4-sleeve button-front blouses, to wear under my cardigans and jumpers, as warm, easily-washed base layers! 

I am really excited about the coming colder months - for one thing, with My Intended on sick leave for weeks yet, maybe even a couple more months, it means we are really using the sitting-room which in previous years has just become a dumping-ground, piled high wth unsorted stuff... it has excellent storage but that's filled with MI's stuff so my stuff just lies around, being in the way... but we've just bought a dozen good storage boxes on eBay very cheaply, and a friend has collected them as the seller wouldn't post, and we can collect them from her during October sometime, once MI is able to drive again. So I shall be able to have proper storage for the first time since moving here nearly 6 years ago! 

And I may even get rid of some of my fabric...!