2020 Fashion on the Ration Challenge

PipneyJane

Noaidi said:

As it's June 30th could I possibly join in with half the coupons like missychrissy is?

I'm knitting dk walking boot socks with stash yarn and then have 4ply stash yarn to knit a further pair of socks. After that I'll be investing in Lettlopi for a hat and glove knitting. I do like to knit sweaters so I'm a little bit apprehensive as to whether I can keep within the coupon limits because of that but I will enjoy trying.

Yes, of course you can join.  Please pull up a (socially distant) chair and join us around the fire place.  It's chilly enough today that we've lit the stove.  What do you have in your stash?  Maybe we can come up with ideas for you for knitting projects. 

- Pip

[Deleted User]

Thank you for the welcome. I say stash. It consists of a hank of my own attempts of hand dyeing with brown acid dyes and is just Regia undyed sock. I don't even have a swift or a ball winder so I am not at all looking forward to hand winding it via the back of the chair. 

I am quite disciplined with yarn purchases and find having a stash stresses me out somewhat. That means I only buy what I need and often play the game of Yarn Chicken.

Sewing I am absolutely terrible at. I have a Brother machine but I'm unable to do it justice, sadly.

joedenise

@Noaidi can I suggest you ask on Freecycle for some yarn.  I'm sure someone locally would have some you could have so that you don't need to use your coupons.  Failing that, are your charity shops open yet?  I know some are so that could be a source of yarn, even if it means unpicking a jumper!

If you have a sewing machine just have a go at doing something simple like a cushion cover or even something really small, but useful at the moment, a fabric facemask or two.  They don't take very much fabric at all so you could repurpose some cotton fabric, just make sure it's a closely woven fabric though.  There are plenty of simple patterns free online.

PipneyJane

Noaidi said:

Thank you for the welcome. I say stash. It consists of a hank of my own attempts of hand dyeing with brown acid dyes and is just Regia undyed sock. I don't even have a swift or a ball winder so I am not at all looking forward to hand winding it via the back of the chair. 

I am quite disciplined with yarn purchases and find having a stash stresses me out somewhat. That means I only buy what I need and often play the game of Yarn Chicken.

Sewing I am absolutely terrible at. I have a Brother machine but I'm unable to do it justice, sadly.

@Noaidi - You are more disciplined than I am.  Most of my stash is the result of shopping at shows, when I don’t have a list of of the requirements for future projects with me. I just have a vague idea how much I’ll need to knit something, then the yarn lust takes over... No shows for me this year; Lockdown has been most helpful.

4-ply is your friend when you are trying to save coupons.  It is possible to knit a jumper from less than 300g.  That’s 6 coupons.  I’ve done it a few times, but I like patterns from the 1930’s and 1940’s.  (I made this and I have enough left over for a pair of woman-sized gloves or socks.).  Are you on Ravelry?  Yarn bought from other people’s stashes on Ravelry is coupon free.  (@Laura_Elsewhere is an expert at this.). So is buying yarn second hand from eBay.

On the sewing front, I’d recommend taking a few classes once Lockdown ends.  It does help with learning how to read fabric and interpreting patterns.  Incidentally, the best piece of equipment I have for my sewing machine is a seam guide, which you screw to the footplate to keep the edge of your sewing at an even distance from the needle.  No more wobbly seams.

- Pip

missychrissy

Hi noaidi. We can start together then tomorrow. I don’t think I’m a heavy clothes and shoes user but I might be surprised. I’ve had a tendency in past to buy in bulk eg lots of underwear in one shop, or 6 pairs of Hotter shoes in one go. I knit a lot, mainly for 9 grandchildren, in particular 3 granddaughters who put their orders in regularly. I used to sew in my teens and twenties but haven’t done for some time. Welcome!

retired19

Can I join You two too?  This is my 1st post on anything but it's an interesting thing to try. I don't buy many clothes - I think!

PollyWollyDoodle

Come on in, we are a very friendly bunch on here - as Pip might say, pull up a chair and we’ll pour you a cuppa. Scones for tea today I think. 

Before I joined this thread I would have said that I didn’t buy many clothes, I was quite surprised to realise how the coupons rack up. It’s really made me focus on buying secondhand, which I did a lot of anyway. As you will see, some of us also knit and sew but that’s not essential. 

[Deleted User]

Today is the day missychrissy and retired19. Thank you all for the collective welcome. Thank you for the non coupon using tips on yarn accumulation. I didn't know Ravelry had such a platform.

PipneyJane I was thinking of knitting a fingering Boxy but now quashed that as it's oversized so heavy on the yardage. I have the Carlina Pullover by Whitney Haywood sweater pattern that I picked up free at the start of lockdown so I think I'll pick that up after I've knit the hat gloves.


The Carlia Sweater by Whitney Haywood.

Laura_Elsewhere

In Ravelry, if you go to "yarns" then you can either put in a specific yarn (New Lanark DK, for example) and then click "search in stashes" and then narrow it to the option to sell or swap, and then narrow it to the country you're in... or you can fiddle further and go wider (!) and look for eg 4-ply yarns with wool or wool blend, worsted-spun and machine-washable, and then search in stashes, those who will sell, and your country... then you PM the person and sometimes they forgot to update and it's gone, but often it's around and much cheaper than it would have been new! 

PipneyJane

That's a lovely jumper, @Noaidi.  Fingering weight = 4-ply, so light on the coupons, too.  (Here's a Ravelry link to the pattern.)  Of course, secondhand yarn is free.  Thanks @Laura_Elsewhere for explaining how to search in stashes, etc, in Ravelry.  

Welcome, @retired19.  As @PollyWollyDoodle said, we're a friendly bunch and happy to talk about anything and everything, not just clothes and crafts.

- Pip


ETA - We've made it into the Newsletter!  Congratulations team!