2021 Fashion On The Ration Challenge

skogar

GemGem - Welcome. Not too far from York here either although its an occasional visit.

I'm trying to do a bit of responsible sourcing of clothes etc. as well. I have wide feet so can tell you that padders and DB shoes produce some of their shoes in the UK. They mark them up clearly on their website. I think DB shoes the remainder is in the EU (I know their slippers are as I have bought some for presents). Not got very far yet with normal clothes - as you can see from my rather odd mixture of clothes bought this year!

Your post did make me chuckle - You said that you can't make your own things and then gave us a list of your experience including details of 2 garments you have made! You have more experience than I did when I started trying to knit and sew again. My knitting was limited to I could knit but not pearl, couldn't increase or decrease and didn't know how to cast on or off. I knit ridiculously slowly but can make wearable things now. If you fancy having a go there are some great videos on the internet for showing you how to cast on and off and Laura and Pip on this thread are really good with advice.

I also have aquired my Mum's old sewing machine - so far I have managed to thread it but have only done some practice stitching as yet. 

As it's getting towards the end of the year your Aunt may be able to give you the coupons for the scarf if she hasn't already used them all as she will be getting some more in January.

PipneyJane

Welcome, @Gem-gem.  Please, come in and take a seat near the fire.  Cup of tea?  (It's freshly brewed.)  Piece of cake?  Don't mind the dog, he's well-fed but will always try it on to get a treat.

As @Laura_Elsewhere and @maryb pointed out, there is a disconnect in "cost" between stuff and cash, so items bought with a gift voucher still cost coupons.  Ditto if something is "free".  In our virtual 1942, the usual wartime rules apply, so if something normally has a coupon cost, it will continue to have a coupon cost regardless of the cash price, because the shopkeeper would still have to redeem your coupons in order to obtain more stock for her shop. Therefore, the socks purchased with that free voucher, will still cost 1 coupon each.

Because this is a personal challenge, gifts purchased for family members are usually deemed to have been purchased with their coupons, so you won't have to sacrifice your coupons for your aunt's scarf.  (I say "usually" but if you have a huge spending problem buying gifts for others, then you may want to sacrifice your own coupons.)

Gem-gem said:

I don't do fast fashion, never have. 

I buy good quality classics - cost more but last longer. 

I am trying to be mindful of where my clothes come from. Trying to source clothes made in the uk where possible ( which is not easy - so any help/suggestions gratefully received). 
Next, from Europe eg leather from Italy / Spain. Happy for it come further afield - if it is where the clothes / material is sourced from. Eg. When I travelled to China, and visited a place where they farm silk worms, I bought a set of silk pyjamas and a silk duvet. BUT not from countries because companies have factories / sweatshops there because it is cheap. This month, I bought two scarves one for me, one for my aunt from a lady who had a stall in York, in the 'Made in Yorkshire' tent. Wanted to support homegrown business.(Sorry, will get off my soap box). 

Please, feel free to spout more from your soapbox.  I think your opinions are echoed by many of us here.  Frankly, I'd much rather pay a little extra and buy something made "locally", than buy something shipped in from China. What surprises me is how much has been off-shored in the 30-odd years that I've lived in this country and, quite often, cheapened down in quality, without being reflected in the price.  I remember paying £50 for a pair of Levi 501's in the early 1990's.  I had a choice of made in France (black jeans) or made in the USA (denim blue).  Today, they're made in China and cost around £100. Are they worth it now?  No.  (Ironically, according to this inflation calculator, £50 in 1992 would buy the equivalent of £106 today.) 

- Pip

Laura_Elsewhere

Cherryfudge said:

@Laura_Elsewhere, I'm catching up here but I wanted to say how much I love the changes you've made with that wool! That russet feeds the soul. 

Thanks! Yes, I'm really pleased with it all - I knitted up a tiny test-piece last night to work out how to use the colours and My Intended and I have decided on a revolutionary approach - the throw of the dice...!
So I shall use the different red-orange-chestnut colours as I like, just a sort of "ooh, haven't had that one for a while" decision rather than any rigidly-repeated order, but he width of each stripe will be determined by throwing a die, so a stripe may be 1 round or 6 rounds or anything in between' for the dark grey, throwing the die will result in 1-round (odd number) or 2-rounds (even number), so the dark grey rounds will be mcuh narrower but still variable. 

I think it's blazing autumn leaves against a stormy sky but M.I. thinks it looks like a geological diagram  

Laura_Elsewhere

New curtains for bedroom and inside the flat's front door - no coupons as they are second-hand, from that convenient market-stall run by E.Bay & Co. It's two pairs but I shall sew one pair, one above the other, to make a tall curtain for the hallway. 

Wraithlady

Laura_Elsewhere said:

So I shall use the different red-orange-chestnut colours as I like, just a sort of "ooh, haven't had that one for a while" decision rather than any rigidly-repeated order, but he width of each stripe will be determined by throwing a die, so a stripe may be 1 round or 6 rounds or anything in between' for the dark grey, throwing the die will result in 1-round (odd number) or 2-rounds (even number), so the dark grey rounds will be mcuh narrower but still variable. 

I think it's blazing autumn leaves against a stormy sky but M.I. thinks it looks like a geological diagram  

I have a variety of dice in various denominations (4-sided to 20-sided) if you get bored.... 

Gem-gem

Cherryfudge said:

Welcome, @Gem-gem, I'm another who's in reach of York.

@Laura_Elsewhere, I'm catching up here but I wanted to say how much I love the changes you've made with that wool! That russet feeds the soul. 

Hi Cherryfudge, 

I actually live in London but I was in York - as it was a belated birthday present from DH. We have been to York twice before. I love the city and the whole region. Have family who live just outside Harrogate. 

PipneyJane

Wraithlady said:

Laura_Elsewhere said:

So I shall use the different red-orange-chestnut colours as I like, just a sort of "ooh, haven't had that one for a while" decision rather than any rigidly-repeated order, but he width of each stripe will be determined by throwing a die, so a stripe may be 1 round or 6 rounds or anything in between' for the dark grey, throwing the die will result in 1-round (odd number) or 2-rounds (even number), so the dark grey rounds will be mcuh narrower but still variable. 

I think it's blazing autumn leaves against a stormy sky but M.I. thinks it looks like a geological diagram  

I have a variety of dice in various denominations (4-sided to 20-sided) if you get bored.... 

Me too.  In fact, I have a full set of miniature metal dice - d4, d6, d8, d10, percentile, d12 and d20 - which live in my sock knitting purse, together with my spare stitch markers, needle stoppers, etc. (Yes, I'm an RPG gamer and these are my emergency dice.)

Hope the photo below is clear enough, so that you can see them. The container comes from a hair-dye box and originally held the rubber gloves.  I think I've been using it for 12 years.



- Pip (apologies for the huge photo.  I can't shrink it.)

Gem-gem

PipneyJane said:

Welcome, @Gem-gem.  Please, come in and take a seat near the fire.  Cup of tea?  (It's freshly brewed.)  Piece of cake?  Don't mind the dog, he's well-fed but will always try it on to get a treat.

As @Laura_Elsewhere and @maryb pointed out, there is a disconnect in "cost" between stuff and cash, so items bought with a gift voucher still cost coupons.  Ditto if something is "free".  In our virtual 1942, the usual wartime rules apply, so if something normally has a coupon cost, it will continue to have a coupon cost regardless of the cash price, because the shopkeeper would still have to redeem your coupons in order to obtain more stock for her shop. Therefore, the socks purchased with that free voucher, will still cost 1 coupon each.

Because this is a personal challenge, gifts purchased for family members are usually deemed to have been purchased with their coupons, so you won't have to sacrifice your coupons for your aunt's scarf.  (I say "usually" but if you have a huge spending problem buying gifts for others, then you may want to sacrifice your own coupons.)

Gem-gem said:

I don't do fast fashion, never have. 

I buy good quality classics - cost more but last longer. 

I am trying to be mindful of where my clothes come from. Trying to source clothes made in the uk where possible ( which is not easy - so any help/suggestions gratefully received). 
Next, from Europe eg leather from Italy / Spain. Happy for it come further afield - if it is where the clothes / material is sourced from. Eg. When I travelled to China, and visited a place where they farm silk worms, I bought a set of silk pyjamas and a silk duvet. BUT not from countries because companies have factories / sweatshops there because it is cheap. This month, I bought two scarves one for me, one for my aunt from a lady who had a stall in York, in the 'Made in Yorkshire' tent. Wanted to support homegrown business.(Sorry, will get off my soap box). 

Please, feel free to spout more from your soapbox.  I think your opinions are echoed by many of us here.  Frankly, I'd much rather pay a little extra and buy something made "locally", than buy something shipped in from China. What surprises me is how much has been off-shored in the 30-odd years that I've lived in this country and, quite often, cheapened down in quality, without being reflected in the price.  I remember paying £50 for a pair of Levi 501's in the early 1990's.  I had a choice of made in France (black jeans) or made in the USA (denim blue).  Today, they're made in China and cost around £100. Are they worth it now?  No.  (Ironically, according to this inflation calculator, £50 in 1992 would buy the equivalent of £106 today.) 

- Pip

Thank you Pip, 

ooh a nice warm fire and a piece of cake. 

Thank you for the clarity regarding the coupons. It makes sense - as all then received the same. I will add the three coupons to my total. But will say that my aunt used hers. 

I am also dismayed by the a) change in quality in some places. It is my understanding that nearly all the clothes in M&S used to be made in this country but now only 1% - such a shame. Plus the quality changed. Hobbs have around 15% of their clothes made in UK. Their woollen skirts / tunic come from Abraham Moon. 

amount of manufacturing has been outsourced away from the UK. I read that in 2000, £5 billion was imported from China. In 2019, it was £25 billion!!!!!

Laura_Elsewhere

I was just planning to use the 6-sided handmade bone die from my re-enactment days, replica of the ones used in the 17th century... but if I decide I would really prefer to make my knitting life reeeeally difficult I shall know which two of you to call on, @Wraithlady and @PipneyJane!  

Gem-gem

Skogar - thank you for the welcome. 

I would love to be able to make /knit myself a cardigan or jumper. My mum and Dad's wife knit. My aunt makes all her own clothes. My Nan used to make most of our clothes when we were young. I am spending the next few days with my mum, I will have a chat with her about seeing if she will help teach me again. I should get some lessons on using the sewing machine. 

Is DB an abbreviation? Padders??