2022 Fashion On The Ration Challenge

zoeblowe

Hi everyone. 
My first year on the challenge in 2021 i used all my coupons and this year i'm trying to plan ahead on what i might need.
I was wondering if anyone might be able to clarify what coupon values i'd need to plan for bedding (double bed size) please as i feel i ought to plan for this in case they all fall to rags

PollyWollyDoodle

Ooh well done @CAFCGirl, you are going to reap the benefits of your courageous work, I’m sure. It’s amazing how everything will start to work together. 

Sorry zoeblowe I don’t know the allowance for household goods. 

thriftwizard

I make rag rugs, but by weaving them, which needs a certain thickness of fabric (about a pencil thick, rolled) and about 3' minimum in length Looking at my M&S size 14s, fabric now paper-thin & giving way rapidly, I'd struggle to get enough fabric out of one pair, though it'd be possible to combine them - a lot of work, though! I think I'd go with cutting them into cleaning rags. Thinking about it, spiral-cut into thinner pieces, I could crochet them (using about a 4 or 5 hook) into a chain to use as garden/allotment ties, or maybe knot them into a net for things to scramble up? I'll experiment; two more pairs have gone beyond wearability this week alone.

OH likes to use his old boxer shorts to clean the assorted vehicles, which would work a lot better if they weren't polycotton, which doesn't absorb water or dirt very well & is a bit rough for polishing. Several years ago, I was staying with Mum in her very-posh retirement flat after one of her stays in hospital, and went to clean my van just as the mayor arrived for a Do. I spent several minutes chatting politely to him, totally unaware that hanging from my hand, dripping suds, was a very-obvious pair of large, bright green tartan boxer shorts...

wit40iwtwan

I have to declare I bought a lovely silk piece of lingerie (slip) - 4 coupons and a pair of slippers 5 coupons... Happy Divorce presents to myself ;-)

Liverpool_Anne

@thriftwizard can you use t shirt material for the woven rugs? 

keepcalmandcraft

PipneyJane said:

@keepcalmandcraft - welcome back!  We assumed you were seconded to war work in a different part of the country last year.  Very hush-hush stuff.

Hi @PipneyJane, yes the hush-hush stuff kept me occupied for most of last year.  Unfortunately no travel involved just stuck in the depths of the spare bedroom! 

If you have new pants or new/nearly new bras, there is a charity Smalls for All (https://www.smallsforall.org/) that send them to people in need in Africa and the UK.

TwibbleDee

wit40iwtwan said:

I have to declare I bought a lovely silk piece of lingerie (slip) - 4 coupons and a pair of slippers 5 coupons... Happy Divorce presents to myself ;-)

Is it bad that my brain immediately asked if you could keep his coupons as well in the divorce?

Congratulations.

Laura_Elsewhere

wit40iwtwan said:

I have to declare I bought a lovely silk piece of lingerie (slip) - 4 coupons and a pair of slippers 5 coupons... Happy Divorce presents to myself ;-)

Congratulations - I remember you said it was a nasty one...

Here's to the future, with lovely undies and slippers as a great start to looking after yourself! 

I love @TwibbleDee's idea of you keeping some of his coupons in the settlement... I wonder if you'd get a resettlement grant or anything...  

PollyWollyDoodle

I think maybe divorce should be like being bombed out - didn’t you get some coupons then?  Otherwise I think there’s a very strong likelihood that he left some of his coupons behind … 😀

thriftwizard

@Liverpool_Anne, yes, you can, but I tend not to - I have enough discarded bedding to keep me weaving until 2025! T-shirt "yarn" is excellent for crochet or braided rugs, or the ones "stitched" with a big safety pin; it copes with curves & corners better than stiffer rag-yarns!

Having examined a deceased pair of M&S knickers carefully, I have to say that sadly, there really isn't enough worthwhile fabric left to do anything with except rag it. Ah well... useful for cleaning, at least!