2025 Fashion On The Ration Challenge

Cherryfudge

I wouldn't go so far to say I've reduced my stash in any appreciable way - perhaps some oddments - but it's helped me to put the brakes on buying more. When I say put the brakes on, I mean considerably slow down. I'm not making any bold claims to have stopped!

I think it's helped make me aware of buying - whether new or second hand - and helped me look after the things I already have.

Incidentally, I was recently given a copy of 'Make do and mend', originally pub. 1943 and now republished by the Imperial War Museum. I'm enjoying reading it and there are great tips, such as mending before laundering to stop the damage being increased in the wash. Logical, but it just hadn't occurred to me.

diminua

More undies and socks purchased - I probably didn't really need the socks, but having got the pink ankle socks I fancied the yellow too. Angel cake colours. I have 31.5 coupons left and must hold back some for two pairs of trousers and a t shirt (not sure what colour yet but ideally just one plain darkish colour, and slightly fitted). I don't think I'll need anything else this year. 

Sarahspangles

kiwisavings said:

Evening/morning fellow forumites 

I was wondering if participating in this Fashion on the Ration challenge had helped to reduce fabric or wool stashes? I have noticed some people including Reverse Coupons in their signature and wondered if this was connected to recording their make, make do and mend projects?

My fabric stash has always been negligible - my grandmother literally had a stash (box)room, as a seamstress, and the ‘stacks’ in a windowless room rather frightened me! Mine is offcuts from making or cutting down curtains, or cushion making and just a couple of lengths of dress fabric that were never made up.

I donated most of my yarn during lockdown and then bought quite a bit last year, so I do have a stash. 
I have been fairly strategic in new purchases to avoid ‘single skein syndrome’. I’ll declare newly purchased balls against coupons as I use them.

However I think reverse couponing makes sense for some people if it means there’s a net reduction in unused resource? Particularly if the fabric/yarn has become ‘old stock’. 

I have a small coupon spend, a short sleeve T-shirt. It’s a bit early to be ‘casting clout’, but I’d gone by train to town, wrapped up warmly, forgetting that giving blood was on my list. What I had on had sleeves that were too fitted to roll up and I needed a way to be ‘decent’.

Demob in two weeks. I’m under 30 coupons and it’s only March, but as the laptop departs, the sewing machine comes out.

alicef

gorgeous sweater @PipneyJane!

@kiwisavings -  great question.  I agree with @Cherryfudge, my coupon count slows down my yarn acquisition.   I'm trying to work through some of my, very ancient, oddment skeins.  Most of the stash cotton has been knitted up now - just a couple of tangled skeins of cotton chenille which, once untangled, I'll make a hand towel that I shall keep for my potting shed. 

In the past, I would pick up odd bits of wool from charity shops - these then hang around in my stash forever as I wouldn't have a pattern in mind.  The challenge now is to create something useful.

thriftwizard

Love that jumper, @PipneyJane - is the wool by any chance Gotland fleece? IIRC that's what the elven cloaks were woven from. It's a lovely fleece to spin though it doesn't have a tight crimp, just elegant silver-through-to-iron-grey curls.

I've been thinking about my offcuts from the mill: as they are technically industrial waste, would they have cost coupons? I've made one of them into a rather-wobbly cafetière cosy, lined with a an ex-fabric sample. Keeps my morning coffee nicely hot for at least an hour, while I feed His Nibs & the assorted livestock & get to grips with the world.

Nelliegrace

A lovely cosy @thriftwizard. I have several knitted tea cosies from Church fairs. I make a pot of tea or coffee, and fill a vacuum flask, so there is another hot drink ready for later.

I bought a vintage, pure wool duffle coat from the online second hand shop for £30.82 with postage. It is mustard colour, long and roomy, but the sleeves are a bit short for my long arms. I have removed the bulky shoulder pads and unpicked the cuffs to gain an inch and a half with a narrower hem and fabric from the lining. A make do and mend project. 



If it still doesn’t look right, at least I will have gained a beautiful, warm, hooded dressing gown. I have been looking for one for a long time. It will be useful now the elderly dog wants to go out at 01.30 hrs. I was admiring the frost in the light of a bombers’ moon last night, and heard a vixen barking in the distance. The Siren Suit begins to seem like a good idea. I saw this pattern at the same store.

pixtotts

Well I've drunk my tea and caught up on 20 pages while knitting! Which was very fun as I came back into all of the knitting chat. 

So starting there - jumper update - back is completed, front is 5 inches, I may have restarted twice... but I'm finally just 2 inches from starting putting in the cat design! 


I need to ask your collective advice on something actually I routinely buy cheap shoes and then wear them to death, at the end of last year I bought some branded trainer style shoes second hand for around the price I usually pay for the cheap shoes. Now the time has come to replace them, they haven't worn on the sole like the cheap shoes usually do but they are starting to look tatty on the top and lets be honest I don't know how much they were worn or stored before I had them. 
Now do I continue with my none branded cheap shoe habbit? Buy some more of the branded shoes second hand? ooor splurge and buy some of the branded shoes new? 

I wish there was a way to find the perfect shoe, all I want is something long wearing that wont give me blisters >.<


Coupons - I had an emergency jeans purchase last week when I discovered one of my pairs had a hole. On one hand I'm really annoyed, I've had 3 pairs of these jeans one light blue no problems, 2 mid blue, 1 pair bought new in the sale, the other pair second hand from both have had pulls / holes after just a handful of wears. The only reason I'm not totally annoyed about it is I have been able to trade them in with the company (they repair/ scrap them) for a voucher off a future purchase worth more than I actually paid for the jeans. But I have decided I am staying clear of that style in that dye as I really do think there is a problem with the combination somehwere! 

Anyway -6 coupons spent on jeans which brings me down to 8/20 but I am counting the jeans trade in as a sale so I have 2 in my got rid of stuff piggy bank for later. x

Cherryfudge

@Nelliegrace, could you add knitted cuffs inserted into the sleeves of that (enviably cosy) coat? Something either along these lines or using a commercial ribbing?

@pixtotts, I feel your dilemma as I have certain trainers that I wear till they come to bits - but they don't hurt my feet! You might be able to extend the life of yours: I used a matching embroidery thread to reinforce the frayed edges of some fabric trainers and it's lasted months. Leather ones can of course be polished or you can use leather dye or recondition the leather using saddle soap.

I can't tell you what's best for you, but I tend to find a brand that supports my feet, then spend a bit more if necessary to get something I can use, because I know it won't cause further damage and I will get the wear out of it. I've been looking very thoughtfully at those that @Laura_Elsewhere has (sorry I don't have the link) but at present I've several pairs of Skech*rs wide fit because they work for my feet and most of my lifestyle. It's also worth a look on discount sites (I used M&M D1rect) as you may be able to get something there.

PipneyJane

thriftwizard said:

Love that jumper, @PipneyJane - is the wool by any chance Gotland fleece? IIRC that's what the elven cloaks were woven from. It's a lovely fleece to spin though it doesn't have a tight crimp, just elegant silver-through-to-iron-grey curls.

I've been thinking about my offcuts from the mill: as they are technically industrial waste, would they have cost coupons? I've made one of them into a rather-wobbly cafetière cosy, lined with a an ex-fabric sample. Keeps my morning coffee nicely hot for at least an hour, while I feed His Nibs & the assorted livestock & get to grips with the world.

@alicef and @thriftwizard, thank you both very much for your kind words.  The yarn is not Gotland; it's Stansborough Gray, which a breed of sheep unique to one farm in New Zealand. (I linked to their shop, in my post about the jumper.) 

Love the Cafetiere cozy, @thriftwizard.  Once-upon-a-time, I managed to buy a thermos cafetiere. Sadly, it didn't last long before the lining broke. 

@Nelliegrace, hopefully the duffle coat now fits.

@pixtotts - I hate it when you find clothes you really like and they just fall apart on you, really fast. Good leather shoes will last years BUT they will be expensive and can be hard to find.  @Laura_Elsewhere knows some excellent sources.  On the trainer front, I buy my Asics from their website, usually in the discounted section.  (I had my gait assessed years ago, and Asics were the best shoe for me.)

Talking of wearing trainers, may I announce the relaunch of the Much Mending On The Borrow Running Club?  We did our first run this morning since the Blitz started.  (Seriously, something snapped in me last night, and this morning I got up and went for my first run since July 2022.  Restarted with the Couch-to-5k.)

- Pip

Laura_Elsewhere

Just pausing as I sprint past in the middle of tons of stuff- this re-enactment supplier has leather, lace-up,. traditionally-made (so can be re-soled and re-heeled), shoes for under £70 for various shades of tan/brown, 60 quid for white, or only 30 quid if you buy the black ones! 90 quid for higher-lacing ankle-boots.

These are the tan ones, extremely similar, if not identical, to the ones I bought 4 or 5 years ago from a supplier who has now stopped trading. 

NB, check sizing as most (all?) are US sizes which are not the same as ours...

https://www.sofmilitary.co.uk/shop-re-enactment.html?footwear_style=2776&gender=2132