2021 Fashion On The Ration Challenge

Gem-gem

Thanks for the welcome Laura_Elsewhere. This challenge is really going to be a challenge if one has to include freebies. Mum and I have swapped clothes in the past - mine when they shrink (Mum is 6 inches shorter). She also has a second hand shop near her that only does quality items. Pre-pandemic, I have bought clothes from there as well as from Charity shops.  Mind you, I want to minimise the quantity of clothes - so will be mindful of all spends. 

Laura_Elsewhere

Gem-gem said:

Thanks for the welcome Laura_Elsewhere. This challenge is really going to be a challenge if one has to include freebies. Mum and I have swapped clothes in the past - mine when they shrink (Mum is 6 inches shorter). She also has a second hand shop near her that only does quality items. Pre-pandemic, I have bought clothes from there as well as from Charity shops.  Mind you, I want to minimise the quantity of clothes - so will be mindful of all spends. 

Argh, now it gets muddley... I think we need to work out a paragraph for what does and doesn't count!  

No coupons are needed for secondhand items, and that includes BNWT (brand new with tags) if bought from someone other than the original seller, and it includes swapping.

It's not just to reduce how many clothes - it's more about finding sustainable ways to enjoy good clothes - so that might be using more of your coupons to buy something like jeans but buying the sort that are better quality fabric and so will last longer; or it might be buying second-hand, or swapping with a friend or mum, or it might be mending your old jeans so they last another few months, or, or, or....! 

So coupons are needed for anything bought new, from its original seller, regardless of money-price, offers, vouchers, etc...

Does that make sense?  

(And a few people are trying to reduce everything so they are counting second-hand items or things made from fabric or yarn they already have, etc... )

Gem-gem

maryb said:

 OOH that's a really interesting dilemma.  Of course, back in the day 3 for 2 wouldn't have existed.  I think it comes down to whether it was a factor in your decision.  ie did you really want three and the cost saving made you buy it then, or was it one of those occasions when you wanted two and the retailer said you can choose another one which you hadn't realised was the case.  
I think personally I would count it  but I'm trying to rid myself of the ooh free STUFF mentality so it's a good discipline for me

I am able to avoid taking 'freebies' when at meetings / staying at hotels etc if I won't use it or just for the sake of it but hadn't thought about it in other areas. 

Yes, for me it I also about not over consuming and thinking carefully what is coming into the house. 

Gem-gem

Laura_Elsewhere said:

Gem-gem said:

Thanks for the welcome Laura_Elsewhere. This challenge is really going to be a challenge if one has to include freebies. Mum and I have swapped clothes in the past - mine when they shrink (Mum is 6 inches shorter). She also has a second hand shop near her that only does quality items. Pre-pandemic, I have bought clothes from there as well as from Charity shops.  Mind you, I want to minimise the quantity of clothes - so will be mindful of all spends. 

Argh, now it gets muddley... I think we need to work out a paragraph for what does and doesn't count!  

No coupons are needed for secondhand items, and that includes BNWT (brand new with tags) if bought from someone other than the original seller, and it includes swapping.

It's not just to reduce how many clothes - it's more about finding sustainable ways to enjoy good clothes - so that might be using more of your coupons to buy something like jeans but buying the sort that are better quality fabric and so will last longer; or it might be buying second-hand, or swapping with a friend or mum, or it might be mending your old jeans so they last another few months, or, or, or....! 

So coupons are needed for anything bought new, from its original seller, regardless of money-price, offers, vouchers, etc...

Does that make sense?  

(And a few people are trying to reduce everything so they are counting second-hand items or things made from fabric or yarn they already have, etc... )

Thanks Laura_Elsewhere, it does make sense. 

I would love to be able to repair my jeans. I get holes between the thighs. I go through approximately 2 - 4 pairs a year. When they can no longer be worn outside, I wear them in the garden but there are only so many pairs that I can keep as garden jeans. If anyone can direct me to where I can watch how to mend. Or upcycler - I have seen people make bags out of jeans. I would love to be able to pass them on. 

I have just contact my Dad's wife to see if she upcycles clothes. She is very creative. 

Gem-gem

Clothes bought so far this year ...
tops x 4.  (20 tokens)
trousers /jeans x 5 (30 tokens)
knickers x 2 (4 tokens)
boots x 1 (5 tokens)
scarf x 1 (2 tokens)
socks x 3 (3 tokens)
64 tokens used.
2 tokens left. 

florianatwobob

Gem-gem said:

I would love to be able to repair my jeans. I get holes between the thighs. I go through approximately 2 - 4 pairs a year. When they can no longer be worn outside, I wear them in the garden but there are only so many pairs that I can keep as garden jeans. If anyone can direct me to where I can watch how to mend. Or upcycler - I have seen people make bags out of jeans. I would love to be able to pass them on. 

I have just contact my Dad's wife to see if she upcycles clothes. She is very creative. 

I made a very rudimentary apron from a pair of jeans that had died between the thighs. I was attempting to get to grips with the sewing machine (still not a resounding success but hey ho I’ll get there) and I was doing a lot of sanding (doors at the time). It does the job but could be improved upon. 

thriftwizard

I upcycle jeans, as long as they're not stretch denim, which is pretty hopeless to work with. Favourite things to make are aprons, hanging "pockets" to store bits in, and a variety of bags; I've tried doing a little quilt recently, too, but that really didn't work well as there were definitely some bits of stretch denim in my "supplies" which made it skew badly. Previously I have made "raggy" quilts, from jeans and cotton plaid shirts, which did work well, but I'd struggle to find that much non-stretch denim now. I cut old family jeans into strips to weave with, or use in the garden as a gentle way to train or restrain exuberant climbers. Most of my twined-weave rag rugs have a couple of lines of denim at either end, as it's tough & can take the extra battering that the edge gets. Off to see if I have any convenient photos of anything...

Laura_Elsewhere

@thriftwizard - yours is the very first name that sprang to mind about upcycling jeans!

But almost all of them now have stretch fibres - hence why they don't last, of course...

PipneyJane

That rug looks stunning, @thriftwizard.  Please explain the technique.  It looks like you've warped up a loom and are platting the other two threads around the warp - is that correct?

@Gem-gem - if you've got two pairs of jeans in a matching colour, I wonder if you could cut a strip of denim from the leg of one and sew it over the area that had worn through?  It won't be pretty.  It may not be flattering, but if it's 3 or 4 inches wide and long enough, it could extend the life of one of the two pairs.  You'd have to do a matching patch on the other leg,... Alternatively you could take one long, wide strip, sew it up the first leg, over the crotch and down the other leg, to be a "design feature".  You may need to re-dye the jeans to get consistent colour throughout, because the last thing you want is a darker patch, which would make it look as if you'd wet yourself.

- Pip 

CapricornLass

I used Sashiko to resurrect a pair of jeans which were starting to go in An Embarassing Place.  The Japanese do fantastic patterns,  I managed 'straight' lines and it wouldn't win prizes for beauty, but by golly its strong.  I've got a further two years out of the jeans.  You will need to buy the sashiko needles and thread, and I would also recommend buying one of the Japanese thimbles (its more like a sailmaker's pad than our thimbles)  but these are relatively inexpensive.  i must admit I wear them in the garden, mainly because of that Embarassing Place....

Got a spend to declare, to whit, one pair of shoes and one pair of trainers, both to replace ones that had been worn out. So 10 coupons spent.