2022 Fashion On The Ration Challenge

white-rabbit_2-2

@PipneyJane your jumper looks lovely on you! I really want to get the knitting needles out again. I am an ok knitter but haven’t done any kinds of patterns where I need to wind wool forward etc. I started an Aran in lockdown and then my mum took it off me….. needless to say it still isn’t finished! 

I got my lovely jaegar wool coat today (bought for £50 when Bon marche closed down) and I think the moths have got to it… little bleeders! I have four noticeable holes in it. Any ideas on how I might repair it??

I was signed off for two weeks with stress yesterday so I have time on my hands!!! 

It’s cold here too, so a brisk walk with a friend and then it’s home to try and sort this coat out!

Laura_Elsewhere

And I'm the other end of the scale for beginners  

I start friends with good quality Aran-weight wool and get them knitting in the round in knit-2-purl-2 rib to make ankle-warmers or wrist-warmers - just a simple unshaped tube of ribbing, gives you all the practice you need for knit and purl stitches and works up incredibly quickly so that within a fortnight they have something they can wear and show people and say "Oh yes, I made these..."

I have to say, had I had to start by just knitting a very large ball of cheap wool til it runs out, for no end result, I can't think I'd ever have carried on! Luckily for me, I started with teaching myself to knit knee-high shaped stockings, from my Gran's late 1920s Weldon's booklet which was designed to take you from never-held-knitting-needles-before to wearing your knee-high socks...

everyone's different and the main thing is that there are pretty well no rules in knitting, whatever some knitting-police-wannabes want to claim Go with @PipneyJane's approach or with mine, or do one and then the other, whatever you want and whatever *works for you*  

Laura_Elsewhere

@white-rabbit_2-2, I'm a bit of an evangelist re darning.... your coat is absolutely and definitely salvageable, it just depends on how much time and effort you feel like putting in. You can do virtually-invisible darning, or you can do bold contrast darning to make it a feature, or you can do decorative cover-ups that look intentional... 

basketcase

Love the jumper, Pip!

Cherryfudge

white-rabbit_2-2 said:

@PipneyJane your jumper looks lovely on you! I really want to get the knitting needles out again. I am an ok knitter but haven’t done any kinds of patterns where I need to wind wool forward etc. I started an Aran in lockdown and then my mum took it off me….. needless to say it still isn’t finished! 

I got my lovely jaegar wool coat today (bought for £50 when Bon marche closed down) and I think the moths have got to it… little bleeders! I have four noticeable holes in it. Any ideas on how I might repair it??

I was signed off for two weeks with stress yesterday so I have time on my hands!!! 

It’s cold here too, so a brisk walk with a friend and then it’s home to try and sort this coat out!

My way of getting into knitting was to make a couple of corner-to-corner baby blankets. By the time you've done all those hundreds of stitches, you can do it with your eyes shut, and there's a blanket for someone somewhere (if no handy babies, hospitals or refuges may accept donations). I used cheap multicoloured yarn which kept costs down and interest up.

Could you post a photo of these holes? @Laura_Elsewhere and I are obviously thinking along similar lines! I don't think I've ever repaired a 'good' coat, but I've done very noticeable embroidery to save the knee of favourite jeans and I'm quite a fan.

I'm sorry to hear you've been signed off, but that being the case, do look after yourself. The walk sounds like an ideal start.  

PipneyJane

basketcase said:

Love the jumper, Pip!

Thank you.  And thank you @white-rabbit_2-2.  

ETA:  hope you can destress, away from your toxic work environment.  Big hugs.

Laura_Elsewhere said:

@white-rabbit_2-2, I'm a bit of an evangelist re darning.... your coat is absolutely and definitely salvageable, it just depends on how much time and effort you feel like putting in. You can do virtually-invisible darning, or you can do bold contrast darning to make it a feature, or you can do decorative cover-ups that look intentional... 

I agree with Laura.  Please share a photo of the damage with us, so that we can come up with some ideas for the repairs.

- Pip

MrsCD

Sorry I've been a bit lazy recently and have just been reading, not posting so much. I've loved seeing what's been made and they are all so well made.  
My DH managed to slice his trousers with a Stanley knife, thankfully not himself, but then said, "You can just stitch it together, can't you?"
I think I need some advice please...its only about an inch, but the fabric is quite thin, synthetic and would fray easily.

florianatwobob

Lovely jumper Pip

Cherryfudge

MrsCD said:

Sorry I've been a bit lazy recently and have just been reading, not posting so much. I've loved seeing what's been made and they are all so well made.  
My DH managed to slice his trousers with a Stanley knife, thankfully not himself, but then said, "You can just stitch it together, can't you?"
I think I need some advice please...its only about an inch, but the fabric is quite thin, synthetic and would fray easily.

I remember my son used to ruin school trousers all the time and a patch of the same fabric (perhaps taken from a hem) applied to the inside with that iron-on stuff seemed to be the best solution. I'm not sure how you would make that invisible, but it would be minimal. Maybe someone has a more sophisticated solution!

otb666

i stopped the summer/winter wardrobe when i finished work in january, had gained a stone in weight in the lockdowns (working from home) and donated both summer/winter clothes as associated them all with work.  A bit extreme for me as i never normally never get rid of clothes.They had done their time though I have since lost the extra weight (thanks to MSE Old style weight loss thread) but glad i got rid of them.  Luckily i had bags of clothes for summer as was left by son and his girlfriend  that saw me through the warm weather and now have my MIL wardrobe (Unfortunately passed away) and have loads of hand knitted jumpers that are so much warmer than shop jumpers.  A lot of skirts and trousers and coats and shoes.  It also had the added bonus of putting hubby off me for a while but that has since worn off and says i look quite in clothes.  I must admit I am loving the new wardrobe and soo much to choose from.  I wont go back to summer/winter as have space for both now. I keep summer in master and winter in spare bedroom