2021 Fashion On The Ration Challenge

dolly84

Laura_Elsewhere said:

@dolly84, a 34" inside leg? I thought my 31 1/2" gave me problems! Do you also have 3/4-length sleeves, no matter how much they intended full-length?  I'm sue it's why i started making my own clothes, because nothing ever fitted me...! 

The problem with sleeves is so much worse than leg length.  When I was younger there weren't any brands that did long leg lengths but now lots of brands do longer lengths in trousers, jeans and even skirts but they do not do long sleeves for some reason, even Next Tall is not so good on sleeve length.  I like my sleeves to go over my wrist but this is very rare for me to find particularly in things that crumple at the elbow like shirts, the only solution is to buy bigger than I need so I don't fill out the shoulders fully.  I am always pulling sleeves down and in some instances it gives me neck ache as I am pulling fabric down over my shoulders. 

CraftyLittleLisa

skogar said:

Lisa - Your new t-shirt sounds great. Any chance of seeing a photo.

It's nothing fancy but here is a photo (if it works that is).

PollyWollyDoodle

I really like that fabric, Lisa. Did you use a commercial pattern? I said I was going to make more T-shirts, but to be honest I hardly need them at the moment.  

PipneyJane

That's very cheerful, @CraftyLittleLisa.  Looks well made, too.

- Pip

CraftyLittleLisa

Thank you ladies. It was pretty straightforward to make. It was a pattern that I got free with the Simply Sewing magazine. I have added a photo of it for you so you can try and find it.

PipneyJane

TwibbleDee said:

I'm trying to buy things that will last longer and suit my needs in the future, instead of just something that meets my immediate needs, but might not work for the next device or fall apart in 6 months.  

The company I would love to buy my next bag from has the tagline "They'll fight over it when you're dead."

Not Coach, by any chance?

- Pip

skogar

Lisa - the new top looks great. Really nice.

Laura - I only wish I had your talent. I remember when I got married I spent ages looking for a dress and couldn't find what I wanted at all - just wasn't in fashion. I ended up with a nice dress and it suited me but it wasn't really what I wanted. I hasten to add it was not a "wedding dress" just a nice summer dress that I could wear again but if i had been able to sew I could have made the dress I wanted, plain, lovely colour, long or 3/4 sleeved, in a nice design or perhaps reconstruct my favourite best dress ever - a beautiful pale purple / grey short sleeved ankle length fishtail silk dress which I bought when I was a student in 2000 ish half price in the sale for £50, a horrifically high sum. I wore it to every wedding for the next 10 years. I still can't bear to get rid off it even though it would never fit me now and is no longer in the best condition.

TwibbleDee

PipneyJane said:

TwibbleDee said:

The company I would love to buy my next bag from has the tagline "They'll fight over it when you're dead."

Not Coach, by any chance?

- Pip

Nope.  Saddleback Leather.  

SezzaF

Hello all

 How busy it has been here and what a lot to catch up on. I am working on supporting people whose homes have been put at risk, sometimes from the current "conflict" and sometimes other reasons so it's a bit busy just now!

 @CraftyLittleLisa I like that t-shirt. Is it a stretch fabric? I’ve not worked with that much – it makes me nervous as I don’t have an overlocker to manage it.

Laura, your trousseau sounds like a really good idea and something that will give you pleasure for a long while

I took my sewing machine out of its Christmas storage this weekend and reclaimed the table. I hunted through my stash and found some fabric I acquired a while ago. It was furnishing fabric. I think it might have been the curtains in the dining room of the big house when they were taken down so the building could be requisitioned. I'm still not sure if anyone knows what is really happening there. It all seems very hush hush!
The fabric however lent itself very nicely to being repurposed as a kimono jacket! Now I just need somewhere to go to wear it!
As it is repurposed fabric, does that mean I don't need to use any coupons?

PollyWollyDoodle

@SezzaF that looks lovely! No offence, but that is exactly the fabric I have as curtains in my kitchen/dining room, I’ve got it in a cream colour. 

Laura, I love the idea of your trousseau. The whole idea of a white dress is fairly recent, and when my mum got married in 1946 she couldn’t afford a dress for a single use, even if there had been fabric available.   She wore a blue wool day dress which was probably her ‘going out’ dress afterwards. I believe it was Queen Victoria’s wedding in 1840 that brought in the fashion for white dresses, and even then you had to be fairly wealthy to afford such an impractical dress. There was a wedding dress exhibition at the V&A a few years ago and there were some beautiful Georgian print dresses - you just wore your best dress to get married in. It’s always seemed crazy to me to spend thousands of pounds (as some brides two) on a dress that you can only wear once.