2025 Fashion On The Ration Challenge

Nelliegrace

I gave in to temptation and bought a bundle of Irish linens from the second hand store online. The seller offered a lower price of £8.99.
I don’t think I will find unused, embroidered huckaback hand towels at that price again. I like the colour. The other linens will be used with pleasure. 

MrsCD

That's interesting about airing the bed every day. I think it's one of those things that seems to have been forgotten these days. I'm sure our beds would last longer too.

Baileys_Babe

MrsCD said:

That's interesting about airing the bed every day. I think it's one of those things that seems to have been forgotten these days. I'm sure our beds would last longer too.

Both my parents and us air our beds daily, I wasn't aware other people don't 🤷 

Nelliegrace

Turning the heavy mattress regularly too, top to bottom one week and side to side the next.

In the 1920s and 30s Chalet School books by E.M. Brent Dyer, the girls open all the windows and hang the feather duvets out to air every morning, even in winter, before they have their cold baths. The author seems obsessed with sickness, how complaisant we have become with modern medicines. 

MrsCD

Baileys_Babe said:

MrsCD said:

That's interesting about airing the bed every day. I think it's one of those things that seems to have been forgotten these days. I'm sure our beds would last longer too.

Both my parents and us air our beds daily, I wasn't aware other people don't 🤷 

Yes, I was always told to fold the sheets back to air the bed but it seems that some people don't know. 

CapricornLass

I seem to remember that one of the early selling points for duvets was that you just shook it and put it back into place.  The message of airing a bed wasn't included, so people have probably forgotten that it needs to be done.  I'm another that folds the duvet and sheet back for the bed to air.  If its not perishing cold, then I open the window at the same time too.

The other thing I do when I change the sheets is to hoover the mattress.

Laura_Elsewhere

Yep, us too! Bedclothes to the foot of the bed, pillows stood on end along the head of the bed (contact side out) and window wise open every day, no matter what the weather, even in subzero temps it gets three minutes, timed, longer if milder.

And we experimented with digital thermometers and the air temp goes back up again within 90 minutes without any heating whatsoever…

alicef

This thread is like walking down the memory lane of bedding.  I well remember cotton sheets; boiled wool blankets; cellular blankets and eiderdowns. 

I was so entranced when I first came across a duvet at a hostel in Munich where I, and my uni. friend, stayed at when travelling Europe aged 19. 

Another 16 coupons to declare - yarn yet again - I'm on a workshop for colour work in the round; continental knitting; german short rows etc.  and didn't have any aran weight in stash. I hope I get some garments finished this year otherwise it could be a chilly winter.

thriftwizard

Eeek - 88 posts to try to catch up with - it's all been a bit manic here! It was Mum's 99th birthday at the weekend, so that was a day out, plus about 6 months ago I'd signed up for a day-trip to Unravel... needless to say, I didn't escape unscathed so have had to add 16 coupons for yarn, plus another 5 as my "proper" slippers with the outdoor sole finally fell apart & had to be replaced.

I'm off house-sitting in Wales this week so my excuse was that I'll need a good project for the evenings... this should keep me busy! But DDiL has just messaged me that the (excellent) yarn shop there has a good sale on too... oh dear!

laura_lau

@thriftwizard That picture looks gorgeous! Is that a pattern you bought at Unravel with the yarn? I always go to Unravel, but this time I couldn't go as I had accidentally booked to be in Italy exactly on the weekend (I thought Unravel would be the week before...) and my friend decided not to go without me, so I do not have first-hand account this time! I suppose my "mistake" was actually a happy one, as I am trying not to buy yarn this year, so obviously going to the show would have made it infinitely more difficult to stick to my resolution.

Can't wait to see your work in progress!

Returning to bedding, I do air the bed every day with the window open too, as I learned from my mum, (however I do know lots of people from my generation don't do that, regardless of the season) but I do not take all the bedding off, I just shake it and fold it at the bottom of the bed. In the Victorian documentary, they literally removed every single layer and put it on the windowsill or outside, and rolled up mattress, and apparently they did that every day. I do think it's best to still do it somehow, but I suppose it was absolutely vital back then.

Today I have resumed my crocheting, making solid granny squares for my Battenberg blanket and I am enjoying it a lot! I will post a picture when I have enough squares!