2022 Fashion On The Ration Challenge

Laura_Elsewhere

PipneyJane said:

I agree with @CapricornLass and @florianatwobob.  I’m not an expert darner, but I’d use the closest coloured thread I could find, weave it in a small loop around a hole and pull it closed like a drawstring.  Some small stitches underneath should hold it in place.  (@Laura_Elsewhere, do you agree?  Darning is far more in your skill set than mine.)

- Pip

Yep, @wh@white-rabbit_2-2 I agree with this.

Thread your needle and start sewing on the wrong side, just running stitches, either not going through to the right side at all or else just making the tiniest of stitches on the right side, making a circle round the hole - don't knot the thread, leave a good few inches hanging loose. You can go round the hole a second time making a little spiral of two rings of stitching. Then holding each end of the thread, just gently snug it up - don't pull it tight as that will pucker up the fabric, but just snug it up... don't worry about trying to close up the hole totally, but just bring all the edges together a little, shrink it slightly. Then you can tie the thread-ends together securely, or else you could do some lines of stitches across and across on the wrong side. 
Embroidery cotton can be useful for finding a good colour match if you can't find thread that';s right. 

maryb

After you’ve done that I would also tease the fabric on the outside just a LITTLE with a toothbrush.  The fabric has a slight fuzziness so this would blend it in.  Try it on an inconspicuous bit on the inside first

maddiemay

Hello all, been away for several weeks -  war work.

Quite by chance I came across a reference to these on a blog this morning, lots on Pinterest too, might be useful to someone.

Wraithlady

10 more coupons to declare - 2 sweatshirts.

As our boiler packed up, I've been less than toasty and impulse-bought the 2 from a workwear manufacturer.

Fortunately, I later found my thermals and am presently wearing several layers, including the jmper I rarely wear as it's far too hot!

Hopefully the boiler will be sorted on Monday - well, there is a war on y'know! Best they could do in the circumstances.

Liverpool_Anne

Hi all, I have aquired some new clothes as I have recently had a birthday. A hoodie, a long sleeve t shirt, a white cardigan with black apples on it, 3 pairs of bamboo socks, and a pair of trainers. I would say apart from the socks and trainers I probably wouldn't have bought any of them and even the socks and trainers are not really needed but I expect they will do a turn as my Mum would have said

@white-rabbit_2-2, good luck with the darning, I am still annoyed that moths totally ruined my cashmere cardigan. I found a few small holes in a couple of my other woolies but all in all I think I was quite lucky. I do now use moth repellant sachets in my wardrobe and all my draws just in case
Take care everyone

PipneyJane

maddiemay said:

Hello all, been away for several weeks -  war work.

Quite by chance I came across a reference to these on a blog this morning, lots on Pinterest too, might be useful to someone.

What are you linking to, @maddiemay?  When I click on the link, it takes me to the first post in this thread.  (Great publicity for the Much Mending WI, but I don’t think that’s where you meant to link.)

- Pip

maddiemay

PipneyJane said:

maddiemay said:

Hello all, been away for several weeks -  war work.

Quite by chance I came across a reference to these on a blog this morning, lots on Pinterest too, might be useful to someone.

What are you linking to, @maddiemay?  When I click on the link, it takes me to the first post in this thread.  (Great publicity for the Much Mending WI, but I don’t think that’s where you meant to link.)

- Pip

Ooops, should have been to this

PipneyJane

maddiemay said:

PipneyJane said:

maddiemay said:

Hello all, been away for several weeks -  war work.

Quite by chance I came across a reference to these on a blog this morning, lots on Pinterest too, might be useful to someone.

What are you linking to, @maddiemay?  When I click on the link, it takes me to the first post in this thread.  (Great publicity for the Much Mending WI, but I don’t think that’s where you meant to link.)

- Pip

Ooops, should have been to this

Ahhh…. OK.  A darning widget.  

Thanks Maddiemay.

- Pip

PipneyJane

Good evening Ladies

I need some advice, please.  How do you get the smell of damp out of a sheepskin coat? Recently, I noticed that most of the coats  hanging in our porch reek of damp and will be taking them to be cleaned this week*. Sadly, My very expensive, sheepskin great coat is one of them.  It has a “specialist dry clean at own risk. May change colour”  label on it, so I don’t want to risk it, if I can help it. It’s currently airing, hanging from a coat hanger wedged on the corner of a bookcase, in the lounge.   (I may yet contact the manufacturers and ask for advice.).   

I have not been able to identify the source of the damp smell; the wall behind the coat rack is dry, without any staining, and the guttering around the porch works properly.  (I’ve checked.).  The problem is with my coats, not DH’s, which also hang there, however I have the side of the coat rack closer to the front door, I am wondering about rain getting in via the letter box (which is vertical and in the front wall at right angles to the coat rack, not on the door).  Of course, it may just be that, in a moment of absent-mindedness I hung a wet coat up when I got home from somewhere and now it’s come back to bite me…

@Laura_Elsewhere and @thriftwizard, since you both have a history of handling old textiles, do you have any ideas?  Google turned up this suggestion:

“ One proven approach is to place an open bag of coffee grounds with your fur coat inside a closed garment bag. Leave the fur in the bag with the coffee grounds until the coat smells like coffee and the musty smell is entirely gone, which can take anywhere from one day to a week. Then remove your fur from the garment bag and hang it outside in the fresh air to ventilate well.”

Many thanks.

- Pip




* I’ve spent the afternoon securing buttons on several coats, and mending the hem of the lining on my woollen great coat, so that everything is in good condition to be cleaned.   That coat is at least 22 years old.

Laura_Elsewhere

@PipneyJane I certainly wouldn't start by putting it in a closed anything! If it smells of damp then it has been damp and the single most important thing to do first of all is to get it absolutely bone dry. Lots of air - hang it outside if you have dry breeze weather, wear it for short periods if you can stand it, turn it inside-out and leave it on a window-rail hanging in daylight, then right-way-out the same thing... 
The coffee-grounds idea is just using the coffee as a humectant that draws moisture to itself, ie out of the coat but tbh it's a deeply deeply inefficient way to do it - what woudl work better would be to gather as many of those little sachets of silica that are often in new handbags, shoes, etc., and put it in a bag with twenty or forty of those... 

But airing, airing, airing just to start with... then you *could* try misting the lining carefully with a small fine-mist spray with lemon juice dilution, to give an acid environment to deter mildew and mould but tbh I wouldn't do that unless you really really feel you have to, because the lemon juice/ acid isn't terribly good for textiles being a mild bleach and an acid...! 

See how it goes with a week of airing it and wearing it for a few minutes at a time whenever you possibly can...