2021 Fashion On The Ration Challenge

thriftwizard

Hello all! Popping in to say that I'm also working on an interesting project, whilst awaiting the grandchild (who is clearly perfectly happy to stay where he is, i.e. inside Mum, for as long as they'll let him stay put); I happily paid 50p for a biggish curtain at the recycling warehouse the other day, because it had a panel of very pretty patchwork cotton stitched onto it - about a half-yard, a good tight weave & clear print, not cheap fabric. But the rest of the curtain - an 8' drop & quite wide - is white linen, identified by burn test. I've wanted a pair of linen trousers for a very long time; not anything posh or tight, but very much like the traditional Japanese loose trousers with a tied waist that ladies of a certain age tend to wear. So - here's my chance! I have a pattern (Folkwear 112) and plenty of dye... wish me luck! The sewing part looks very simple; let's hope that's not a mirage... 

I also have a good supply of ex-hotel tablecloths to dye with various techniques, & plan to make at least one of the jackets in the pattern. I sell (and occasionally wear) kimono and haori jackets; the construction is very simple, because the fabrics are so perfect - beautifully woven & dyed, with all sorts of techniques. For a long time now, I've wanted to try to make some of these garments using reclaimed fabrics - now's my chance! 

Cherryfudge

That sounds like a very interesting project @thriftwizard: I love seeing how dyes come through on different fabrics: the only disappointing ones are jeans so far and that's only because the subtleties are lost. You reminded me I saw a big pink velvet curtain binned at the car boot sale the other week. It's probably as well I can't (yet) sew because I did think what fun it would be to turn it into something and what a waste. It's also just as well I'm nowhere near a recycling warehouse.

I hope you keep us involved with how the trousers come along (and you will probably get first dibs if we get any parachute silk).

Liverpool_Anne

@PipneyJane, that looks lovely.
@Laura_Elsewhere, I don't need to set the alarm, I usually wake between 6 and 6,30 but it has been lovely this last week getting up and making a cup of tea and taking it back to bed I don't think it will really sink in until September when all the schools go back and I don't have to. 
@Thriftwizard, why do the ladies jackets have holes under the arms? 
Take care everyone

skogar

Pip - that looks like a lovely pattern. It will be great to see the jumper when you have it finished.

Well I have the 2 pairs of cycling shorts I had already said I would get.

I was surprised to see that there is no mention of the number of points needed for a cycling cape as they used to be common. In fact nothing for a cape or cloak that I could see. Of course back in the day I'm sure it would have been i cotton duck (probably similar to the black ones that  caradice produce). However this is a bright yellow thin synthetic fabric affair. Will see how I get on with it. I've not had one before. Have realised that in menswear there is an option for an unlined mackintosh or cape at 9 coupons. Does that sound about right?

There was me thinking that this challenge would help me buy fewer quality items so the quality of clothing and what I bought to fill obvious gaps in my wardrobe would improve things. However instead I seem to have blown over 1/3 of my coupon budget on cycling gear.

Laura_Elsewhere

@skogar, maybe being on coupons might help you to have bought better-quality cycling-gear, thus reducing your consumption over time! 
I had a synthetic thin cycling-cape once, brought back for me from Hong Kong many years ago by my parents... it had loops to attach to the handlebars and then you sat on the back to anchor that - *but* I don't think it was designed for old-fashioned bikes on Scottish urban hills, because when I stood up on the pedals to get up a steep bit, the back of the cape damn nearly killed me by billowing up over my head and blinding me! I know standing on the pedals is frowned-upon by serious cyclists, but in any case, do make sure the thing is anchored front and back, won't you?! 

PipneyJane

@skogar. How much fabric do you reckon is in that cape?  9 coupons for a cape is a lot, so do you reckon that the coupon cost would be less if you just counted the fabric yardage, at 2 coupons per metre.   (We’ll let you do that.)

@Cherryfudge - I’m knitting it in a dark grey.  I will try to take a photo tomorrow to show off the yarn.  I had this jumper in mind, when I bought it and was gutted when I got home - 13,000 miles away from the shop - to discover it was the wrong thickness.   It’s taking me 8 years of procrastination to get this far.

I can’t wait to hear more about your discoveries at your mum’s, but first tell us about your WIP.  What is the rate of increase?  Is the pattern Lacey?  We may be able to work out why your stitch count is off.

- Pip

skogar

Laura - I don't stand on the pedals but it is a widely used technique by serious cyclists - of which i am definitely not one. One of the main reasons for using it is for hill climbing exactly as you describe as you can put a bit more power on that way. It is a bit more difficult on a tandem but some people so it. It's a good point that you made about the cape fastenings. This one has the loops that you describe at the front but there is a waist tie so the cape is secured at the waist as well so I don't think there will be any danger of it going over my head. It must have been very scary. The reason for all the cycling purchases this year is that I was a fairly new cyclist so would have bought the cycling shorts last year - as 1 pair was all I had (got it the previous year to see if they would work) but I struggled to find any available as with everyone out cycling cycling gear became unobtainable so I think what I have now will keep me going for quite some time now also a lot of manufacturers don't make outdoor and cycling geat in larger sizes so I have spent a bit of time tracking down an alternative to the ones I bought originally which seems to have been discontinued. Although iIhave waterproofs for walking the jacket I have not very practical to cycle in and I'm hoping that perhaps I can get away without waterproof trouser if I am wearing shorts - we will see. I'm sure I will still get wet feet but that seems to happen even with waterproof trousers. The coupons are definitely making me think carefully about what to buy though, but the cycling shorts had to be the priority. 1 pair for a cycle tour was too much of a risk!

Pip - many thanks - there is probably 2m of fabric in the cape - perhaps a bit less so that woud be 4 coupons - I will amend my signature.

Baileys_Babe

To prevent you from getting wet feet @skogar you could get a pair of waterproof socks.

PipneyJane

Baileys_Babe said:

To prevent you from getting wet feet @skogar you could get a pair of waterproof socks.

Wait - they make waterproof socks???  What do they look like? And why have I never heard of them before?  (Also, can someone please explain to me why running trainers are not water proof?  If your feet get splashed or you step in a puddle, the water goes straight through and your feet get soaked.)

@skogar, I have a vague memory of seeing waterproofs that you can slip on over your cycling shoes, a bit like the things we used to put over our shoes in the hospital if we had to go to the wards from the operating theatre.  (Those weren’t waterproof.). They look a bit like shower caps worn on your feet.  (For all I know, they are shower caps and enterprising cyclists are using them.)

@Cherryfudge, I have been thinking further about your stitch increase problem. I am wondering if the maths is off, not your knitting.    Did you have the correct number of stitches before the increase row?  How many are you meant to have afterwards?  How many increases does the pattern ask you to do?  If you are willing to type it up, what are the instructions for the increase row? (I’m sorry but you will probably have to tink back the row again.)

@thriftwizard - I love your idea for making trousers out of old linen curtains.   Hope the sewing is easy. Also, fingers crossed re the grandbaby.  

- Pip

Laura_Elsewhere

I spent several years baffled by why there didn't seem to be sturdy watertight boots for bad weather for common people, esp women, in the 17th century... 

Eventually I grasped the fact that the notion of keeping your feet dry at all times is actually very modern indeed. For most of history people simply got wet feet, often, but because they had pure-wool stockings and leather shoes, they didn't get cold feet nor did they get foot-rot... (yes, the soldier in Flanders got trench-foot despite wool and leather but that was more to do with never being able to dry their feet and put on dry stockings). It took a while to get used to, but then I was able to ford small streams and so on without any problems, just letting my stockings and shoes dry on me over the rest of the day. I would take two pairs of stockings and one pair of shoes for a 5-day event and even in winter, in snow, my feet never felt cold, even when soaked. Thinking back, I remember my schooldays when my gloveless hands froze round the shape of holding my bike handlebars, and had to be slowly and painfully coaxed back to flexibility, but I didn't have problems with cold feet, even when my shoes and stockings were completely sodden. 

Think about old novels, and the frequency of people, esp children, being told to go and change into dry stockings as soon as they come in... 

(I wish I knew why I had no gloves, mind!)