2021 Fashion On The Ration Challenge

skogar

I have ordered the grease for the sewing machine so when that comes I will give everything a good oiling and greasing as per the lubrication diagrams in the user manual and I will be good to go. I love the fact that with equipment that age they expected you to do the basic servicing yourself and so the user manuals give you all the instructions you need to do it just like the user manual for my morris minor.

I have found the full workshop manual as well on youtube as a video (which would be great if anything needs adjusting - but it all looks fine - but good to know it is available). On there there is no mention of lubricating the motor (just of replacing it) so I don't think they were expecting problems. My OH has looked at it and thinks it will probably have sealed bearings so I have been advised to leave it alone and if the motor causes problems in the future it will probably be a case of taking it apart and replacing the sealed bearings. I've even found a video of how to thread it.

I seem to only have one bobbin for underneath - there should be some more somewhere (probably still at my Mum's she used to keep them in a box but she thought it was with the machine. Iis it possible to get spare ones?), are they a the same or are they different for different machines. I've got the thing it fits into its just the bobbin as I thought it might be easier to have a few so I can have one loaded with white and one with dark thread for instance. Simmilarly sewing machine needles - I just have the one that came with it. Are there different fittings - i assume there are different gauges - what would you suggest?

I'm trying to decide what to have a go at making. I could do with a tablecloth for the dining table (which is round). i'm not sure what the best way would be of finishing it as it might be difficult to get a neat round seam. I have seen round cloths finished with bias binding and also overlocked (which obviously isn't an option). Does any one have any suggestions. I'm thinking of finding something in my stash to use (I have some random old curtains and things that might make a convincing tablecloth). Other than that I could do with some pillowcases I can actually get the pillows into. I bought some new ones a few years ago and they are a bit larger than normal - I can only get them into 1 set of pillowcases and even that's a just. Even with my limited skills pillowcases should be possible.

Cherryfudge

Laura_Elsewhere said:

@Cherryfudge - a fascinating idea but it doesn't quite account for the phenomenally shallow mediaeval spoon-shape! But then your spoon, wooden or horn or pewter, was your own personal possession, carried on your belt along with your knife, so maybe the theory only emerges once spoons are shared, a few centuries on?

That's a very good point about mediaeval spoons - the answer is I don't know. However I've recently been looking at a photo of a chatelaine and your post put me in mind of it. I wonder if the ladies of The Mendings in times past would have had these for carrying their spoons, keys and so forth, and if so, is this a possible explanation for the English lack of set measuring vessels? I could carry a spoon at my waist while bossing my servants of feeding the chickens, but a Tala might get in the way.  

PipneyJane

Damn!  Just lost a big post.

@CapricornLass - I love the story about the Clootie Dumpling.  You've reminded me that we have some left over from Christmas.  It was made by DH's best mate, from his mother's/grandmother's recipe.  Every year, he grumbles about the lack of precision in the measurements.  (What can I say?  He has an engineering degree.)

thriftwizard said:

I grew up with pounds, shillings and ounces (like Winnie the Pooh!) but am just old enough to have learnt grams and kilos too, then had an American friend & neighbour who taught me her favourite recipes in cups, sticks and quarts, plus a Welsh friend who also uses cups, but they're tea-cups! So I'll switch between weight & volume as best suits the recipe I'm using, and have  all sorts of measuring devices, as well as a set of balance scales with both metric and imperial weights; they never need the battery changing when you're halfway through a recipe! And my assorted offspring have all learnt to cook by my very random methods, and are all very capable in the kitchen.  Although DS2 has a marked problem getting his head around washing up...

Like you, @thriftwizard, I had a year of Imperial measurements at school before Australia switched to metric, so I have a lot of Rules of Thumb conversions for swapping between the two.  Decimal currency was easier because the Australian government sensibly set the value of a penny at 1 cent, so sixpence became 5 cents, a shilling became 10 cents, etc. The coins are still interchangeable. (Australia decimalised when I was a couple of months old.) 

skogar said:

I have ordered the grease for the sewing machine so when that comes I will give everything a good oiling and greasing as per the lubrication diagrams in the user manual and I will be good to go. I love the fact that with equipment that age they expected you to do the basic servicing yourself and so the user manuals give you all the instructions you need to do it just like the user manual for my morris minor.

I have found the full workshop manual as well on youtube as a video (which would be great if anything needs adjusting - but it all looks fine - but good to know it is available). On there there is no mention of lubricating the motor (just of replacing it) so I don't think they were expecting problems. My OH has looked at it and thinks it will probably have sealed bearings so I have been advised to leave it alone and if the motor causes problems in the future it will probably be a case of taking it apart and replacing the sealed bearings. I've even found a video of how to thread it.

I seem to only have one bobbin for underneath - there should be some more somewhere (probably still at my Mum's she used to keep them in a box but she thought it was with the machine. Iis it possible to get spare ones?), are they a the same or are they different for different machines. I've got the thing it fits into its just the bobbin as I thought it might be easier to have a few so I can have one loaded with white and one with dark thread for instance. Similarly sewing machine needles - I just have the one that came with it. Are there different fittings - i assume there are different gauges - what would you suggest?

Most sewing machine needles fit most machines.  There are different gauges, which is primarily driven by the type of fabric you are sewing; something thinner might benefit from a finer needle, while leather needs a very sharp needle with a special cutting edge.  I'd suggest you talk to the staff in a sewing machine shop or in the sewing depart of a large department store.  They should know which ones are best for general sewing.  Take your needle along, carefully stored, in case you need to show them for comparison.

Ditto for bobbins.  Bobbins are more specialised in sizing but I know for a fact that the bobbins that fit my machine also fit several different brands.  Take your bobbin case with you for fitting and buy a spare or two of that as well as additional bobbins.

HTH

- Pip

PollyWollyDoodle

My 100+ year old handcrank machine has a very different bobbin (or shuttle as I know it), it’s long and thin and the casing is shaped like a bullet. I agree though, most more modern machines have very similar shapes and sizes. There is a useful link here https://www.sewessential.co.uk/blog/how-to-choose-the-right-sewing-machine-needle/ to different needles and their uses. I wouldn’t bother with a specific one unless I was doing something extremely delicate or heavy duty, but it’s always worth having spare needles in stock because there’s nothing more annoying than breaking one halfway through a project.

samhartwell

Bit late but am going to join in with this challenge and get to know you all.  DD and I love going to second hand shops and even DS has started to realise the benefits.
Currently a small spend on some thermal base layer 6/66 used.
Quick question is do you do this for just yourself or as a family?

Sam

Laura_Elsewhere

samhartwell said:

Bit late but am going to join in with this challenge and get to know you all.  DD and I love going to second hand shops and even DS has started to realise the benefits.
Currently a small spend on some thermal base layer 6/66 used.
Quick question is do you do this for just yourself or as a family?

Sam

Each person in a family had their own supply of coupons for clothing - even babies had a specific number, and before even that, an expectant mother had a specific number of coupons! 

I know an adult had 66 coupons, but would have to look up for children... and children's clothes use fewer coupons, too (which was very very useful for many petite adult women during the rationing years who cheerfully bought from kids' departments and saved coupons!)

Laura_Elsewhere

Re old sewing machines - be a bit wary of using any bobbin in an old machine as they *don't* always fit, even if they seem to. 

There is some kind of goddess of Singer machine parts called Helen Howes, internationally renowned for knowing more than anyone else in he world about old Singer machines, and some other makes too. She is very nice whenever I've contacted her with a question, and her prices are surprisingly low. 

http://www.helenhowes-sewingmachines.co.uk/advicelinks.html

PipneyJane

samhartwell said:

Bit late but am going to join in with this challenge and get to know you all.  DD and I love going to second hand shops and even DS has started to realise the benefits.
Currently a small spend on some thermal base layer 6/66 used.
Quick question is do you do this for just yourself or as a family?

Sam

Hi Sam. Do join us in our parallel universe!  Please come in and take seat by the fire.  Cup of tea?  Piece of chocolate cake? Don't mind the cat - she's hiding from the wind.  Do you craft? 

To answer your question:  it's up to you.  The original 66 coupons were per person, not per household, but if you want to challenge yourself to keep track of your entire family's clothing rations then you are welcome to do so.  It's what our foremothers would have done.  (Personally, I only track for myself.)  Certainly, if you are buying something for a family member, in our parallel universe we deem it as being bought with their coupons, not your own.  Your 66 coupons are your own precious gold.

- Pip

Shropshirelass

Polly I distinctly remember my grandma 's handcranked Singer, on which I learnt to sew, had a shuttle shaped almost like a clog. I can remember the dawning delight I felt as I realised how the machine worked. Pure magic!!

Couldsavemore

I can also confess to a hand cranked singer...
I bought mine in a yard sale.. the elderly gentlemans wife had passed away. He said he wasn't keen to sell it but I was so excited to use it and the people who were with me told him I could sew... so he let me have it for 20 quid. 
I've cleaned it, looked on youtube to learn how to thread it up and its back in action. 
I like it for the really fiddly stuff... you can go one stitch at a time.