2021 Fashion On The Ration Challenge

PipneyJane

joedenise said:

Seems like a lot of us don't use fabric softener - I've never seen the point.  I also don't iron anything apart from when I'm dress making, which unfortunately I seem to have lost my mojo for.  I'm sure it'll come back once my sewing room is a bit brighter!  At the moment it is so dark in there and I don't like working under the light, it's nothing like daylight.

I don’t like fabric softener either and don’t use it.  I used it was when I had a dryer, on the grounds that it was anti-static.  You know what?  I’m not sure it even did that well.  I gave up using it after a nursing colleague taught me that the only way to prevent static causing your skirt to cling to your nylons, is to smear your hands lightly with moisturiser/body lotion and then smear that over your tights/stockings.  Best tip ever!

I don’t think it makes any difference when ironing.  I rarely iron.  My DH puts his wet dress shirts onto their hangers, immediately after the wash finishes, and they dry without a wrinkle.  All his shirts are at least 60% cotton.

maryb said:

It sounds as if you've got practical issues holding you back.  Mine were really just a reluctance to tackle a chore which really didn't take that long once I got started.  Cold and foggy here today so retreating to my workroom will do nicely

Yes and no.  If I had my sewing mojo back, I’d make the current layout work.   Or I’d force the changes we need to make to give me a permanent sewing space.  

I have somewhere that “would do” as a temporary sewing station.  My sister sent me my great-aunt’s dining room table in 2019.  It was our dining table when I was growing up and I cut loads of garments out on that table when I was growing up. I could do that again.  It’s been my desk since Christmas.  I could set my sewing machine up on it, too.

- Pip

Laura_Elsewhere

@PipneyJane, his really jumpedat me:

"My sister sent me my great-aunt’s dining room table in 2019.  It was our dining table when I was growing up and I cut loads of garments out on that table when I was growing up. I could do that again.  It’s been my desk since Christmas.  I could set my sewing machine up on it, too."

Dunno if you've ever read much insomnia advice but one of the things they really recommend is to avoid doing anything in bed apart from sleeping and a bit of he other, so to speak...  so you train your mind NOT to associate bed with discussing financial problems or working on next week's presentation, or watching films, playing solitaire on your phone,etc., etc. 

I wonder if you've kind of *diluted* your sewing space? You only acquired the table in 2019 and it arrived covered in sewing memories. Since then, with the world turned inside-out, you've done very little or no sewing, and you've used he table for other non-sewing stuff, stuff you must do, are made to do, not stuff you choose to do. 

What about getting a tablecloth, curtain, duvet-cover, length of fabric and covering the table with that during working hours.... and have a box or trolley so at the end of your working day you spend a few minutes putting all your work stuff away OFF the table, and take off the covering-cloth. It'll take a lot less time than commuting used to take. Probably less time than getting your coat and gloves and scarf and everything on and then off... 
Then you have your table back. It isn't just A Table, but it's Your Table. 

And maybe if you stop diluting it, you'll start to feel more like sewing?

thriftwizard

I don't use conditioner, but DD1's addicted. I use an Ecoball instead of detergent (which I now swear by; it's excellent and very economical) and a splash of white vinegar in the conditioner drawer if I think things need a stale smell removing, and hanging outside is my go-to unless it's tipping down out there. But DD1 loves her smellies, despite the itches & rashes, and uses lashings of anti-bacterial washing liquid on her supermarket uniform, which gets washed & tumbled dry daily. Working in a supermarket has turned her head when it comes to laundry - the smellier, the better!

CapricornLass

I dont use fabric conditioner either, except on acrylic woollens and fleeces, so that they don't feel so rough to the touch.  It takes me about two years to get through a bottle!

Unfortunately my mother's foot is not getting better, so I will probably be dipping in and out for a while. 

SezzaF

I'm sorry, I'm probably your neighbour with the smelly washing wafting over the fence! I do use fabric softener but now I'm feeling guilty about it! I love the smell of clean washing on other people too

Maybe I'll resolve to at least use less!

CraftyLittleLisa

SezzaF don't feel guilty about using fabric conditioner.  I use it to.  I tried using white vinegar instead but everything was just so static all my clothes just stuck to me so I had to get it again.  I get it from a refill shop and use less than they generally say.

PollyWollyDoodle

No need to feel guilty about it @SezzaF, it's just not for me!  But then I don't use air fresheners, spray polishes, or most other 'smelly' things, even though I have a really limited sense of smell these are the things that really get to me.

@L@Laura_Elsewhere that was a great suggestion about Pip's desk/sewing table.  I keep wondering if I'm kidding myself that I would do more if I had a specific place; sometimes you just want to leave something and then come back to it.  My sewing machine lives upstairs in a cupboard, the various reels of thread, bobbins, scissors etc have different places in the lounge, and trimmings, fabric etc are in different places.  I probably certainly have far too much stuff!  I have looked longingly at Horn sewing cabinets, and have provisionally promised myself one when I move although I suspect that a table and small chest of drawers would probably do the job just as well. 

Laura_Elsewhere

I'm fortunate that my clothes are so heavily skewed to natural fibres that I have no static problems - in a small flat and given that we don't use the heating, we have to tumble-dry everything except my handknit woollens, so I'd be stuffed if I had much in the way of synthetics and blends! 

maddiemay

On the subject of fabric conditioner, I use some for my woollens/cashmere and now for my nics and socks, it has been near impossible to line dry this winter and I am a real tightwad about using the tumble dryer, but my cotton socks and underpinnings have been getting tighter and tighter as they are dried on the airer, hopefully it will be back to drying outside soon.
If anyone has a recommendation for the least smelly conditioner I would be grateful, I use a wash ball for most washing and that  is very low odour.

Baileys_Babe

maddiemay said:

On the subject of fabric conditioner, I use some for my woollens/cashmere and now for my nics and socks, it has been near impossible to line dry this winter and I am a real tightwad about using the tumble dryer, but my cotton socks and underpinnings have been getting tighter and tighter as they are dried on the airer, hopefully it will be back to drying outside soon.
If anyone has a recommendation for the least smelly conditioner I would be grateful, I use a wash ball for most washing and that  is very low odour.

My Mum uses https://www.surcare.co.uk/product/sensitive-fabric-softener/
as is fragrance free and doesn't make my Dad wheeze. She buys it at Tesco.