2025 Fashion On The Ration Challenge

CapricornLass

Glad you were able to rescue your boots,, Laura-Elsewhere.  My machine would definitely sulk at having to sew leather.

Right, today I am wearing : Bra - 3 years old, a pair of corded ski leggings that are so old that I don't remember when I bought them and really they need throwing out but they are WARM, a t-shirt which is at least 10 years old, and a sweat-shirt,  which I inherited from my son when he left home 17 years ago.  Socks are 10 years plus, and so are the crocs I'm wearing.  But its been a home day, so I tend to wear old clothes for bashing around the place!

I promise that when I go out to meet my friends tonight I will wear something thats a bit younger!

itsthelittlethings

11 coupons. Amber and Yasmin le Bon short jacket from Asda.

PipneyJane

@thriftwizard - I’d say the fabric is second hand, so no coupons required.  (Also, love your haul of the quilt, etc.)

@moginstein, I’m with Thriftwizard.  I’d use poly-cotton thread to avoid shrinkage,  Also, may I suggest sewing the selvages down with ribbon to stabilise them?   The hospital where I trained as a nurse used to do something similar with their big towels, when the middles got to worn.  (They’d double them over and turn them into bath mats.  They also cut smaller towels down into face-flannels.)

- Pip

alicef

lol @PipneyJane I'm getting on, but not quite old enough to have been in mini skirts - even so, I doubt my mum would have let me get away with that! Certainly in my 70s teenage era I never managed to slide past a pair of platforms and at school the teachers were ever vigilant with the ruler, measuring heel height and skirt length!   I did, in my early 70s youth, have a very on trend knitted dress (green) with a chain link belt and a maxi tiered skirt in alternating blue and red polka dot separated by white ric rac trim.  Cheese cloth was big - oh and leg warmers later on.  I did hanker after a pair of knee high, stacked heel, leather boots. 

Still plotting my G00dw00d trip - in my dreams I have extended the visit to the whole weekend plus I have decided that I need to find a milliner who can help me make a tilt hat.

@Laura_Elsewhere your skills are amazing.  I do try to be rigorous about taking my shoes to be mended but to be able to mend one's own is awesome.

Gem-gem

Good evening everyone, 
Just thought I would pop into the village hall and say hello. 

Visited a secondhand shop and looked at the 'free' rail. You can make a donation. I picked up a Jasper Conrad dress and a Mistrial skirt. I have a small donation (all the cash I had!)
Zero coupons used 😀
I took in a sweater - fingers crossed it will sell. 

Today, I was wearing - jeans - bought last autumn; long sleeve T-shirt - five years old; secondhand sweatshirt - bought earlier this year. 

Cherryfudge

alicef said:

I did, in my early 70s youth, have a very on trend knitted dress (green) with a chain link belt and a maxi tiered skirt in alternating blue and red polka dot separated by white ric rac trim.  Cheese cloth was big - oh and leg warmers later on.  I did hanker after a pair of knee high, stacked heel, leather boots. 

Oh, @alicef, you took me right back to my teens when I read that! I remember cheesecloth and tiered skirts so well! And the 'gypsy' look. For a while there were broderie anglaise-edge underskirts that had to be slightly longer than your peasant or gypsy skirt so they would show underneath, but later that became an attached layer of similar fabric to create the same illusion. I think that would have been late 1970s: your green dress with that enviable chain link belt would have been a few years earlier than the ones I so much wanted.

itsthelittlethings

Have bought some wool to make a blanket for mother out of next month’s payday (old habits die hard and yes, it will put me behind). She feels the cold and I do worry about her.

I am now sans coupons. In September. How embarrassing. I suppose it is nearly October. Plus I am going to London this weekend and wanted to check out some clothing.

Eerily quiet this morning.

moginstein

PipneyJane said:

@thriftwizard - I’d say the fabric is second hand, so no coupons required.  (Also, love your haul of the quilt, etc.)

@moginstein, I’m with Thriftwizard.  I’d use poly-cotton thread to avoid shrinkage,  Also, may I suggest sewing the selvages down with ribbon to stabilise them?   The hospital where I trained as a nurse used to do something similar with their big towels, when the middles got to worn.  (They’d double them over and turn them into bath mats.  They also cut smaller towels down into face-flannels.)

- Pip

Thanks @thriftwizard and @PipneyJane I hadn't thought about the shrinking bit, but that makes sense. The ribbon sounds like a nice addition, I might try that on version 2. 
Sorry if I'm being dumb, but do you mean polycotton thread as in a blend? Hobbycraft and my local thread place only seem to do 100% polyester or 100% cotton 
I did do a bit of a practice run on a bath towel that had some holes in. Cut the iffy bit off.  With the smaller bit I made a face cloth and some make up remover type cloths, just zigzagged over the edge. Looked just okay, but functional and its a learning curve. With the main bit I turned the edge over and zigzagged and it looked better than I expected.

PipneyJane

moginstein said:

PipneyJane said:

@thriftwizard - I’d say the fabric is second hand, so no coupons required.  (Also, love your haul of the quilt, etc.)

@moginstein, I’m with Thriftwizard.  I’d use poly-cotton thread to avoid shrinkage,  Also, may I suggest sewing the selvages down with ribbon to stabilise them?   The hospital where I trained as a nurse used to do something similar with their big towels, when the middles got to worn.  (They’d double them over and turn them into bath mats.  They also cut smaller towels down into face-flannels.)

- Pip

Thanks @thriftwizard and @PipneyJane I hadn't thought about the shrinking bit, but that makes sense. The ribbon sounds like a nice addition, I might try that on version 2. 
Sorry if I'm being dumb, but do you mean polycotton thread as in a blend? Hobbycraft and my local thread place only seem to do 100% polyester or 100% cotton 
I did do a bit of a practice run on a bath towel that had some holes in. Cut the iffy bit off.  With the smaller bit I made a face cloth and some make up remover type cloths, just zigzagged over the edge. Looked just okay, but functional and it’s a learning curve. With the main bit I turned the edge over and zigzagged and it looked better than I expected.

@moginstein, use the polyester.

Please show us the results of your work.

- Pip 

Cherryfudge

itsthelittlethings said:

Have bought some wool to make a blanket for mother out of next month’s payday (old habits die hard and yes, it will put me behind). She feels the cold and I do worry about her.

I am now sans coupons. In September. How embarrassing. I suppose it is nearly October. Plus I am going to London this weekend and wanted to check out some clothing.

Eerily quiet this morning.

Perhaps some of your Mum's coupons could go towards the blanket?

Or look on Ebay or similar: I've seen vintage Witney blankets there that I would have snapped up had I a) the space and b) not already got some inherited ones. They would be coupon free and are marvellous - stylish, warm (or cool in a heatwave - I tried this, on @Laura_Elsewhere's recommendation, and it's perfect) and saving something worth saving.