2023 Fashion on the Ration Challenge

maryb

Gosh the thread has been lively and really interesting.  I’m trying to avoid synthetics but it’s not always possible.  For instance I wear a Barbour jacket for a good part of the autumn and winter.  It will last for ever if I get it rewaxed. But it’s not warm enough on it’s own so I wear a fleece under it.  Nasty synthetic stuff, fleece.  But because it’s only used as a coat lining it doesn’t need frequent washing and it gives the most warmth for the thinnest layer. 

But in really cold weather even that isn’t enough. So this year I bought a good quality waterproof padded jacket which should see me out.  Ideally I would have preferred a proper wool coat but after looking all over last year I could not find one.  Manufacturers try to maintain margins by using inferior quality fabrics.  One coat I looked at looked nice on the hanger but it was 20% plastic and had started to bobble under the arms just from people trying it on in the shop.  And they were asking £400 for it!  I’d love a genuine Austrian Loden coat but I haven’t been able to track one down in the UK.  Maybe I need a trip to Salzburg

The invisible mending course was by Alexandra Brinck whom I follow on Instagram.  She runs workshops from time to time and she has just launched a subscription service where she posts videos of her techniques.  When we were on the course she used her phone to film herself demonstrating the techniques and showed it on a monitor so we could all see so I imagine that’s what she is doing on her subscription channel

Cherryfudge

maryb said:

The invisible mending course was by Alexandra Brinck whom I follow on Instagram.  She runs workshops from time to time and she has just launched a subscription service where she posts videos of her techniques.  When we were on the course she used her phone to film herself demonstrating the techniques and showed it on a monitor so we could all see so I imagine that’s what she is doing on her subscription channel

Thanks for the tip - I've followed her now too: it looks as though there are practical skills to be hankered after on there!

CapricornLass

MaryB, it's worth looking on Ebay for Loden coats.  I sold one of my mother's loden coats and there were several on at the same time.  You will probably have to be patient for the right size/colour/style to turn up, but being second hand it should be a lot cheaper.

skogar

I think there are many different reasons for doing the challenge and all are valid. Yes we are not doing the same as in 1942 as clothing would have been utility style made with minimal material - this is probably why some of the coupon costs don't seem as sensible when we are comparing items which are made with more material and that all textile purchases would have counted. I think the thing it does make us all do is think about what we are buying and when we do that we will take into account the reasons that we individually have for doing the challenge.

For me it is not buying things that "will do". If it is the perfect garment I know from experience it will get lots of use and the ones that just "will do" don't. So I have become a lot fussier about the clothes that I buy and buy fewer but there are fewer duds now.

Also I know I have plenty of wool (and the ideas of what I would make with that wool have changed now), but I prefer making small items and I can practice with the wool I have rather than buying more. I'm afraid I have too many aspirational if purchases which maybe don't match the colours I usually wear but could be made into cosy socks for wearing at home or similar little things. I also have enough thick navy wool for a cardigan or jumper but am too scared to start it as I tend to get bored knitting big things.

Perhaps also something to think about is passing on those duds. If there are things that are never worn because they don't fit or don't work for us, I have started sorting through my wool and working out what I should get rid of which someone else might use. I have realised that if I don't like knitting with it or it doesn't behave in the way I want I have no motivation to use it for a project and it should really go. (I've got a few big balls of a nice acyrilic which looks lovely but whatever I knit in it just doesn't seems to suit the wool and I end up pulling it back. 1 ball has been used to try and start 4 different hat patterns now!

Note to Laura - your shawl is a great achievement - this year I succeeded in making a single thick chunky sock and getting the heel to work nicely without a hole. A whole shawl is a much more wearable item than a single sock. :-) As I only decided to change to making a sock after producing a ribbing tube (I forget what it was going to be) I adapted a pattern and who knows which notebook I have written the modifications down in so not sure if it will ever get a pair! To be honest I didn't think I would actually get it to work so didn't pay much attention. But I should put it down to experience and at least hopefully now I will be able to produce a pair of socks with some of the wool I already have. Am avoiding all wool shops and websites of temptation to try and avoid more "ifs". I'm trying to tell myself that if I actually make some items with what I've got I could always dye them to the correct colour as most is wool.

For other people I see ideas for mending things and making them last longer, I think of my gran using leftover wool from knitting jumpers to knit children's gloves, sometimes with different coloured fingers and some lovely navy ones she knitted me with a nice minimalistic red stripe design which I'm sure would have been to allow her to knit the gloves from a minimal amount of left over navy wool. I love reading everyone's stories of their makes, buys and what they are repairing and thinking about, and that I don't mind if we adapt things to suit what is important to us. All I would say is to the question "should it be a separate challenge" i would say probably not. Add your extra / different target to your signature if you want and I would love to read about it in this thread as I'm sure it will relate to the topics we talk about.

I actually came on to say that I have bought a new wool chunky zip cardigan in green the same as my navy one so I will add the coupons to my signature.

PipneyJane

skogar said:

I think there are many different reasons for doing the challenge and all are valid. Yes we are not doing the same as in 1942 as clothing would have been utility style made with minimal material - this is probably why some of the coupon costs don't seem as sensible when we are comparing items which are made with more material and that all textile purchases would have counted. I think the thing it does make us all do is think about what we are buying and when we do that we will take into account the reasons that we individually have for doing the challenge.

For me it is not buying things that "will do". If it is the perfect garment I know from experience it will get lots of use and the ones that just "will do" don't. So I have become a lot fussier about the clothes that I buy and buy fewer but there are fewer duds now.

Also I know I have plenty of wool (and the ideas of what I would make with that wool have changed now), but I prefer making small items and I can practice with the wool I have rather than buying more. I'm afraid I have too many aspirational if purchases which maybe don't match the colours I usually wear but could be made into cosy socks for wearing at home or similar little things. I also have enough thick navy wool for a cardigan or jumper but am too scared to start it as I tend to get bored knitting big things.

Perhaps also something to think about is passing on those duds. If there are things that are never worn because they don't fit or don't work for us, I have started sorting through my wool and working out what I should get rid of which someone else might use. I have realised that if I don't like knitting with it or it doesn't behave in the way I want I have no motivation to use it for a project and it should really go. (I've got a few big balls of a nice acyrilic which looks lovely but whatever I knit in it just doesn't seems to suit the wool and I end up pulling it back. 1 ball has been used to try and start 4 different hat patterns now!

Note to Laura - your shawl is a great achievement - this year I succeeded in making a single thick chunky sock and getting the heel to work nicely without a hole. A whole shawl is a much more wearable item than a single sock. :-) As I only decided to change to making a sock after producing a ribbing tube (I forget what it was going to be) I adapted a pattern and who knows which notebook I have written the modifications down in so not sure if it will ever get a pair! To be honest I didn't think I would actually get it to work so didn't pay much attention. But I should put it down to experience and at least hopefully now I will be able to produce a pair of socks with some of the wool I already have. Am avoiding all wool shops and websites of temptation to try and avoid more "ifs". I'm trying to tell myself that if I actually make some items with what I've got I could always dye them to the correct colour as most is wool.

For other people I see ideas for mending things and making them last longer, I think of my gran using leftover wool from knitting jumpers to knit children's gloves, sometimes with different coloured fingers and some lovely navy ones she knitted me with a nice minimalistic red stripe design which I'm sure would have been to allow her to knit the gloves from a minimal amount of left over navy wool. I love reading everyone's stories of their makes, buys and what they are repairing and thinking about, and that I don't mind if we adapt things to suit what is important to us. All I would say is to the question "should it be a separate challenge" i would say probably not. Add your extra / different target to your signature if you want and I would love to read about it in this thread as I'm sure it will relate to the topics we talk about.

I actually came on to say that I have bought a new wool chunky zip cardigan in green the same as my navy one so I will add the coupons to my signature.

Well said @skogar.

For me, the challenge is about:

1. Not buying something because “it will do” when it really doesn’t add up to what I really, really want.  Things that “will do” never get worn and always end up getting replaced.
2. Saving money, so that I can end up on the right side of Captain Vimes’ Boot Theory, i.e. so I have the money when I need it to afford the expensive, quality boots that’ll last 10 years, rather than spend considerably more over that time on multiple pairs of cheap, rubbish boots.  (This applies to so much more than just boots.)  
3. Attempting to utilise/use up what I have, rather than greedily buying more.  < cough > e.g. yarn stash < / cough >
4. Going for “classic” and “elegant” rather than Fashion.  TBH, I gave up on Fashion about 20 years ago, because it rarely if ever suits me.  (I’m always the wrong proportions.)
5. Buying second hand when I can to a) save money, and b) save the planet.  

Only having 66 coupons to spend concentrates the mind.

- Pip

Cherryfudge

Government announcement in the Evening Argus, June 1, 1941

To break it down into Women's clothing only:-

Lined mackintosh or coat over 28" - 14 coupons

Under 28" short coat or jacket - 11 coupons

Frock, gown or dress of wool - 11 coupons

Frock, gown or dress of other fabric - 7 coupons

Bodice with girls skirt or gym tunic - 8 coupons

Pyjamas - 8 coupons

Divided skirt or skirt – 7 coupons

Nightdress - 6 coupons

Dungarees or overalls - 6 coupons

Blouse, shirt, sports top, cardigan or jumper - 5 coupons

Pair of slippers, boots or shoes – 5 coupons

Other garments including corsets - 3 coupons

Petticoat or slip, cami-knickers or combinations - 4 coupons

Apron or pinafore - 3 coupons

Scarf, gloves, mittens or muff - 2 coupons

Stockings per pair - 2 coupons

Ankle socks per pair – 1 coupon

1 yard wool cloth 36"wide – 3 coupons, non-woollen cloth is 2 coupons

2 ounces of wool knitting yarn – 1 coupon

Assumptions for the Challenge:-

• 1 yard of fabric equals 1 modern metre. No penalty for width.
• 2 ounces of wool knitting yarn equals 50g of any knitting yarn containing natural fibres. Note: according to a display I once saw at the Imperial War Museum, there was a different coupon cost for man-made fibre, but I've never found out what so let's assume acrylic is half the coupon cost of wool, i.e. 100g acrylic equals 1 coupon.
• Based on the quantity of fabric and work involved, a "corset" is the equivalent of two bras, therefore each bra is 1.5 coupons.
• Ditto one pair of Cami-knickers would equal two pairs of modern bikini-style knickers or thongs, making each pair of modern knickers 2 coupons.
• Bodice with skirt = shirt/blouse/t-shirt purchased at the same time as a matching or co-ordinating skirt or trousers = 8 coupons in total.
• Dungarees = jeans = 6 coupons.
• Ditto trousers.
• Oodies = siren suits and cost the same as a dressing gown, i.e. 8 coupons for a man and 6 for a woman.
• Leggings count as 2 coupons, the same as thermal tights.
• Second-hand clothing is exempt.
• Leather handbags aren't mentioned anywhere in the clothing coupon data. The assumption is that they weren't made once the war was in full swing. Ditto leather wallets and purses. I assume a leather handbag involves the same effort and leather as a pair of shoes at 5 coupons. A new wallet/purse can be 2 coupons.
• Stockings/tights. At 2 coupons a pair, stockings are really expensive in coupon-terms. Because of your connection to the armed forces, you have been given 6 special vouchers for those 4-pair value packs, which will not require coupons to redeem.  Each voucher can also be swapped for a pair of thermal tights or leggings.
• Face masks are coupon free.
• If something isn't listed under women's clothing, but is listed under men's, assume its the same coupon cost as men's , e.g. shorts aren’t mentioned in the list of women’s clothing, so ladies shorts cost the same as the men’s - 5 coupons.
• Hats are listed in the fine print.  They are coupon free.
• Leather and cotton belts are coupon free.
• Swimsuits cost 3 coupons and fall into the category of "Other Under Garments including Corsets".

I bought a tippet yesterday - I'm guessing it's equivalent of a scarf - 2 coupons? Blue polyester, by the way, not fox fur.

I also bought an outfit each and a pack of socks each for the granddaughters, who are still under 4 so no coupons.

Laura_Elsewhere

I bought a dress yesterday from Sainsbury's, 25% off, and using double-points Nectar coupons, so that the dress, a pair of cotton shorts-pyjamas (I plan to wear the short-sleeved top as a blouse and the shorts as knicks), three jars of posh strawberry conserve, a jar of onion relish and some fruit cost us 12p in actual money... 
I think both will be given to me as Xmas presents as I'm struggling to think of things otherwise. 

The dress has long sleeves which are very ugly, and no pockets, so I intend to butcher it to a pinafore with wide shoulder-straps, possibly with buttoning at the front, not sure yet, and use the cut-off sleeves to make pockets. I may also take it up with a hefty tuck 6" above the hem. 

It is this one- it looks much less rubbish in real life though!
 https://tuclothing.sainsburys.co.uk/product/tuc143167553

skogar

Of course Pip - the challenge of the wool shops is much greater for you than me. As I spend most of my time "reverse knitting" and trying to knit things where I have no idea what I am doing it is far less easy to justify buying large quantities of wool. If I knew I was actually likely to complete a large project the urge to buy more wool would be much greater. ;-)

diminua

I didn't buy a scarf - I got another pair of gloves as my black and orange ones were going at the fingertips (they're kids stretchy ones). The new ones have no stretch so should last longer and be a bit warmer. That leaves me with 0.5 of a coupon to take into 2024.  

Cherryfudge

diminua said:

That leaves me with 0.5 of a coupon to take into 2024.  

Annual income 66 coupons, annual expenditure 65.5, result happiness. Annual income 66 coupons, annual expenditure 66.5, result misery.