2023 Fashion on the Ration Challenge

Cherryfudge

@maryb, that's the sort  of course I could do with - I definitely struggle with mending knitted fabric because, while I can knit, I can't get my head round the pattern for repairing gaps. I can use a crochet hook to reconstruct bits where there's been a run, but even so it has to be trial and error. Just not the right type of brain I guess, but I keep trying. Where did you find the course?

@2Scratters, good for Liverpool! I hope it raises money for the cause as well as saving fabric.

I have a few knitted items to unravel and repurpose, including a skirt my Mum made. At first I had doubts about this skirt as it was her handiwork, but then I realised I don't remember her ever wearing it, so perhaps she didn't like it. I can't say I like it as a skirt though the wool (and it feels like wool) could make a good autumnal jacket: a greeny-brown colour. Other things on the list are a giant-sized orangey cardigan I bought in HandM some years ago: the yarn is lovely but it's deliberately so oversized that I wear it about once a year. Then there's the red merino cardigan which is fabulous quality (from a charity shop) but totally lacks style. That might be more of an adjustment than a re-knit as the wool is thin. There are probably more if I could think of them.

Of course I am much more likely to be starting a new project or feeling guilty about something that's underway than unpicking something, so there might be a bit of a wait.

PipneyJane

Cherryfudge said:

@maryb, that's the sort  of course I could do with - I definitely struggle with mending knitted fabric because, while I can knit, I can't get my head round the pattern for repairing gaps. I can use a crochet hook to reconstruct bits where there's been a run, but even so it has to be trial and error. Just not the right type of brain I guess, but I keep trying. Where did you find the course?

@2Scratters, good for Liverpool! I hope it raises money for the cause as well as saving fabric.

I have a few knitted items to unravel and repurpose, including a skirt my Mum made. At first I had doubts about this skirt as it was her handiwork, but then I realised I don't remember her ever wearing it, so perhaps she didn't like it. I can't say I like it as a skirt though the wool (and it feels like wool) could make a good autumnal jacket: a greeny-brown colour. Other things on the list are a giant-sized orangey cardigan I bought in HandM some years ago: the yarn is lovely but it's deliberately so oversized that I wear it about once a year. Then there's the red merino cardigan which is fabulous quality (from a charity shop) but totally lacks style. That might be more of an adjustment than a re-knit as the wool is thin. There are probably more if I could think of them.

Of course I am much more likely to be starting a new project or feeling guilty about something that's underway than unpicking something, so there might be a bit of a wait.

May I echo your remarks to @maryb and @2Scratters, @Cherryfudge?

Re fake leather: having been "lucky" enough to own a vinyl dress back in the early 1970's, I can't think of anything worse.  (Yes, it's vinyl.  Lets call the spade a spade.)  Leather is a by-product of the meat industry.  Frankly, if one is happy eating meat, then utilise the whole animal as much as possible.  As well as cutting wastage, it means you are treating the animal with respect.

I've been thinking about artificial yarns.  (Dangerous, I know.)  As you may recall from the note on the first post, I've never been able to establish the coupon cost.  I only know there was a discount from a sign beside an exhibit at the Imperial War Museum.  For 2024, shall we drop the discount and charge 1 coupon per 50g, like natural fibres?

- Pip



PS:  @dND thank you for the information re Tiger mozzies.  We were in Normandy, not further south, but the mosquitos were definitely the largest that I have seen (and I grew up in Australia, where they're everywhere).  The "bites" don't look like typical mosquito bites, but that doesn't mean I didn't get one or two and then have an itchy-rash-reaction. Thanks also for the reminder to keep taking antihistamines.  (I'd stopped after a few days.)  I realise that I'm now in a "histamine loop", which means that if a spot feels itchy and I scratch it, I'll develop an "itchy bite" regardless of whether there was one there originally.  (It's a normal response, but very annoying.  I learned about it when I did a day in dermatology as a student nurse.)

Cherryfudge

I'm completely with you on using leather, @PipneyJane, though I never had a vinyl dress. It's amazing what we had in the 1970s - lurid nylon bedsheets, anyone?!  

My thought is: I eat meat but I prefer not to waste what are effectively by-products (though that's just cultural as our ancestors would have made best use of every bit). I wish I had been brave enough to look into proper leather when I reupholstered a couple of dining chairs a few years ago. The faux leather is already cracking.

Thinking aloud (feel free to skip to the end):

• there are and have always been questions of expediency when using fabrics and while a lot of us knit, sew or crochet, this is out of choice not need.
• There are whole shops that would be out of business in no time if plastics disappeared (discount shops in particular, but also places selling yarn: acrylic yarn is a form of plastic).
• Not everyone is an eco-warrior, so choices may be different from mine, which I respect.
• I have bags of colourful yarns because I 'rescued' them from car boot sales or charity shops, or bought them for a project and either didn't do the project, or had some left over. As such I realise I'm actually falling into a marketing trap. I didn't 'need' those, and possibly the original owner didn't, either. They called my name because they are what a friend called 'wonderful ifs'. They sell a dream. I fell for it. Not that there's anything wrong with dreams, they're important, but castles in the air are much more useful if they have foundations in the ground.
• So, we may be buying yarn (wool, acrylic or whatever) to fulfil our dreams, and choice of fibre can be influenced by a variety of factors: cost, availability, comfort, fashion etc.
• The inclusion of fashion is important: we aren't being sold our yarn on utility alone: there's a reason it's arranged in massive rainbow-hued displays: it's there to tempt the appetite, like a sweet shop. And if you go back for that perfect shade later, it may no longer be current. Remember eyelash wool?  
• A lot of hobby yarn craft consumes a lot of cheap acrylics - but again this is a matter of choice. I may be preaching to the converted and hoping none of them looks at my current project: *ahem* acrylic gloves).
• 'Fashion on the Ration' was originally informed by wartime conditions: labour and materials were needed elsewhere than in the fashion industry and some things were scarce. Our circumstances are different but there are many things we can learn, especially in terms of consuming less and making resources go further.
• One major difference is that we live in a culture where fabric is relatively cheap and disposal is affecting the world in many ways (through raw material production, manufacture, working conditions, consumption and disposal of products, effect on waste recipient nations such as Ghana (what does this say about our collective attitude to the people of these countries?), environmental cost, upkeep etc.) We aren't in a part of the world where we're likely to be bombed - so far we've counted things like soft furnishings as 'bomb damaged' and I got a new duvet cover this way - but is this something to think about? I mean, one of our huge blessings is that in the UK, bomb damage is infrequent. If things changed and we had frequent bomb damage, perhaps that would be the time to allow for it, but right now, buying a duvet or curtains is actual fabric consumption. Do we continue to let it go under the radar? That might be a big challenge, and how much is it to do with fashion? Are we concerned with clothes and therefore that's not under our purview?
• So, is artificial fibre to be the same coupon cost as natural fibre? Natural fibre degrades but still has environmental and other costs (for example, mulesing is an animal welfare issue though some producers are tackling this). Cotton and wool both have environmental impact, though it's not the same as impact as acrylics which will be around for a long time after disposal unless burned, and which have an ongoing affect as we consume them or breathe them in. How, though, do we judge that against the things that drove wartime rationing? What comes to mind is that (I assume) there was Government compensation for those deprived due to the war, and that must have come out of taxes either at the time or eventually. So, you could argue that not having to spend coupons (if that was the case) for war damage replacement, was probably taxed in another form later, a bit like paying off the costs of the Covid pandemic. So - there is no true, nationwide, exemption. We pay one way or another. Similarly, we now have 'war damage' in environmental cost - somehow that has to be paid for. I have the same reservation about recycled polyester garments - are they just putting off the evil moment? How do we feel we should pay the equivalent of war damage, or should we ignore it?
• My own choice would be to pay more coupons for artificial fibres, but I'm not in a position to need them so I can't make that judgement for others.
• The question for this thread is actually not primarily about environmental impact, even if that's what drives some of us as individuals: it's about learning from wartime and trying to live more mindfully through the example of those who had no choice.

I wish I were paid by the word! Thanks to anyone who got to the end. I will now get off the soap box (why do we have a soap box? Oh hang on, I brought it in, did I? I suppose I did). (Skulks off to darn a tea bag or something).

Laura_Elsewhere

*::stands to applaud @Cherryfudge ::* Brava! Brava! 

So much better-worded than I could... yes, as I said in my more-rambling post, we all do still buy synthetics (my new knickers!), but it's definitely something to think about... 

PipneyJane

Of course we have a soapbox, @Cherryfudge.  We also have a tea crate.  Both rationed items that we managed to procure directly from a supplier - wholesale - and divvy up in the village.

• I have bags of colourful yarns because I 'rescued' them from car boot sales or charity shops, or bought them for a project and either didn't do the project, or had some left over. As such I realise I'm actually falling into a marketing trap. I didn't 'need' those, and possibly the original owner didn't, either. They called my name because they are what a friend called 'wonderful ifs'. They sell a dream. I fell for it. Not that there's anything wrong with dreams, they're important, but castles in the air are much more useful if they have foundations in the ground.

I love the name "wonderful ifs".  That's how I ended up with a stash of yarn, after all.  (Complete with eyelash, of course.)

- Pip

Cherryfudge

Thank you @Laura_Elsewhere. Wow, you read quickly!

The floor is now open for discussion (visiting speaker is hiding behind the aspidistra, darning tea bags for the war effort).

Laura_Elsewhere

One thing I am doing that I said I'd do before and didn't... I shall start actively trying to find ways to use up the fabrics and yarn I already have! 
I said a year or three back that I would start keeping a separate tally of how many clothing coupons I 'saved' by making things from what I already have, and see if I can sew and knit and crochet my way up to 66 coupons in a year. Time to do it...! 

After all, it is already in the flat, taking up space and having cost me money so it's sensible to use it instead of buying more- save money, save resources, save space in the tiny flat! 

Cherryfudge

PipneyJane said:

Of course we have a soapbox, @Cherryfudge.  We also have a tea crate.  Both rationed items that we managed to procure directly from a supplier - wholesale - and divvy up in the village.

 

PipneyJane said:

I love the name "wonderful ifs".  That's how I ended up with a stash of yarn, after all.  (Complete with eyelash, of course.)

A lovely American friend is to thank for that one. I have eyelash too - maybe one day it will be rediscovered?

Laura_Elsewhere

Is eyelash the stuff that has a lot of 1cm-long fibres all along one side, out at 90 degrees to the main yarn? If so, you can knit it up into excellent flamboyant fake-fur cuffs for gloves or short ankle-warmers to go at the top of ankle-boots...  

PipneyJane

Laura_Elsewhere said:

One thing I am doing that I said I'd do before and didn't... I shall start actively trying to find ways to use up the fabrics and yarn I already have! 
I said a year or three back that I would start keeping a separate tally of how many clothing coupons I 'saved' by making things from what I already have, and see if I can sew and knit and crochet my way up to 66 coupons in a year. Time to do it...! 

After all, it is already in the flat, taking up space and having cost me money so it's sensible to use it instead of buying more- save money, save resources, save space in the tiny flat! 

Hmmm.... I'm wondering if I should join you @Laura_Elsewhere.  I have far too much yarn.

Laura_Elsewhere said:

Is eyelash the stuff that has a lot of 1cm-long fibres all along one side, out at 90 degrees to the main yarn? If so, you can knit it up into excellent flamboyant fake-fur cuffs for gloves or short ankle-warmers to go at the top of ankle-boots...  

Yes.

@Cherryfudge and @Laura_Elsewhere eyelash crochets up very quickly into lovely, curly scarves too, which is a great way of getting rid of it. (Yes, of course, I have plans to use it up this way.) Recipe:  Use a 6mm to 7mm hook.  Work 150 chain.  In the first row, Double Crochet into every stitch.  Chain 3 at the end of each row.  In the second and subsequent rows, work 1 DC into the first stitch then 2DC into the second.  Repeat to end.  Five rows will give you a lovely thick scarf and use up possibly 4 balls of the stuff.

- Pip