Hello Dear Reader,
Oh I say, didn’t we all have a lot of chit chat about making our own clothes. Personally, I would love to walk into a charity shop and pick up clothes that fit me straight off. Sometimes I do, sometimes I don’t. I have plenty of clothes that I wear on a regular basis and no one would know they are second hand. I wear them to work or at home. I often buy clothes just to cut them up to make quilts. I keep my eyes peeled for pyjamas and cut them up to make quilts. Sometimes, I back quilts in flannel so they don’t slip off and have a warm side that can be snuggled underneath.
My local charity shop often has a sale day where all men’s shirts or all skirts, or in this case, all pyjamas are £1. I pointed out that the top was just half the set and got what you can see above for £1.50. It takes no time at all to cut them into component parts, I just rip along the seam. I want square pieces and you’ll see why below.
There is a tiny bit of waste (apologies for my old comfy slippers!) and I keep this to burn in my stove.
I even keep the piping ribbons and again, you’ll see why if you keep reading.
Here’s the pyjama top, cut into squares and it becomes a total piece almost one metre square. In ‘old money’ a yard. Not bad for 50p! I hope this adds credibility that second hand is always best.
So I have one yard of cup cake fabric and three yards (a lot more fabric in the bottoms than the tops) of soft flannel monkey fabric to use for quilt backing. If you make quilts for your children, anyone else’s and especially for a baby gift as some we know is always having a baby, then there is nothing nicer than a soft flannel quilt.
It doesn’t matter what you buy second hand, whether it’s your clothes, your furniture or as most of us do your car it’s always the best way to buy.
There was a bit of a discussion yesterday about the cost of making clothes. Firstly, I would always advocate buying second hand if you can as recycling, passing clothes on and making good is the best for our pockets and the planet. I wouldn’t think there is anyway more ethical to clothe ourselves or provide for ourselves than making do and mending or just using something again and again.
If, like me, you’re an odd size then you might want to have a go at making clothes. I was suggesting that homemade is better if that’s an option for you because you’ll get something made to your size. Lots of cheap clothing has cost someone something somewhere, in some cases an individual’s health and well being. But let me make this very clear, if you’ve got children to clothe and can’t find what you need in charity shops or find that charity shops are too expensive then take a look at ebay for clothes bundles, at Gumtree, in your local paper, on the notice board at school, nursery, church or playgroup. Swap with friends or if you have to because that’s your budget and that’s what suits you, clothe your kids from discount stores because children keep growing and need clothes!
Over to you Dear Reader, who agrees that second hand is always best and is ethical because you’re reusing, saving the planet and keeping clothes out of landfill? Also, who else quilts from old clothes?
Until tomorrow,
Love Froogs xxx
p.s Frugal Queen has a Facebook page - if you like this and want another way of keeping up to date them ‘like’ this https://www.facebook.com/pages/Frugal-Queen/303116143168721 and get daily updates. Thanks lovvies xxx
I prefer second hand clothes any day of the week. I forgot to say in my comment yesterday but sometimes if I need something really special, I buy it from the Dress Agency - as I can try it on - there's not that option with Ebay sadly - now that's really posh recycling 😉
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Froogs
I view old clothing as a resource (the fabric). If cotton, flannel, terry especially, I set it aside: terry towels become “fancy rags”-the real workhorse in my home when it comes to cleaning; flannel becomes either patches for existing flannel items (usually sheets, or nighties) but eventually, I turn my old flannel nighties into pillow cases, and the bits leftover become great dusters when used with a bit of lemon oil; all cotton fabric is saved for rustic quilts as I call them. They won't win any prizes, but they are homey, and welcomed on a cold night. I also purchase second hand whenever I can as it certainly helps my budget, and often is of a much better quality then sold today.
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We are bringing up our grandaughter and the majority of her clothes come from a car boot sale. She's 23 months old tomorrow but tiny for her age, so I'm still buying baby clothes for her in 9-12 months. I get excellent deals from the boot sale, usually buying several items and getting money knocked off. I find charity shops expensive but do buy some things from the supermarket or very rarely mothercare. Second hand is best, I rarely buy new clothes for myself either!
I cut up any old clothes that I can't sell on or donate. I haven't finished a quilt yet but I'm currently making a cot bed quilt for Daisy, using her old clothes…a memory quilt.
Mandy x
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Today I've been wearing my lovely loose, cool and comfy white summer trousers that I bought last year from a charity shop! I have also spent most of the week chopping up old checked shirts for a quilt I'm planning. Most were 'donated' by my teenagers but I love charity shops for this too. I hadn't thought of pj's for backing - thanks for the heads up!
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I totally agree that “used is always best”. I have a stack of shirts to cut up later today. I also hunt for old wool skirts & trousers for quilt backs, also to use in piecework. If you had enough wool skirts a quilt batting could be pieced too. They make very warm comfy quilts. I always felt my wool by washing in very warm water with vinegar (to set colors), then dry in the dryer. This shrinks the wool and makes it possible to machine wash your quilt. It also keeps edges from fraying because the weave of the fabric shrinks too, making a piece of fabric rather like felt. Less people are wearing wool these days, but I always am on the look out for it.
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Even my wedding dress was second hand, a little black fishtail beaded number for five dollars. I sent it back to the charity shop afterwards.
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Forgot to ask: where did you acquire the white storage cabinet with glass doors? I am able to set up a sewing room down cellar in my new rental and this is the sort of thing I am thinking of. Was it an Ikea item by any chance?
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I agree, Froogs, second hand clothing probably is the most ethical and environmentally friendly way to clothe ourselves. Just imagine all of the billions of excess clothing floating around on the planet right now. I imagine it could clothe everyone for ten years without another garment being made! I think making clothing from something that had a previous life is also wonderful 🙂
Madeleine.x
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I have a draw full of my little girls flannel PJs and even though they have not been worn many times they have bobbling. Would they be suitable for reuse and do you know know of a way to remove the bobbling?
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ive scrap quilted for years , i just cant get my head around buying the latest jelly rolls and fat quarters when theres a whole world of lonely pillowcases out there looking for a home
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I just patiently sit and pull the bobbles off xx
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I make flannels(wash cloths out of old towels. I have even stripped down a couple of old dressing gowns and made towels out of them for the gym. If it goes missing not lost much money.old tea towels become dish rags and if the start to wear in the middle i cut them in half and sew the good sides together. I want to make some draught excluders and will keep pack any rag s wool scrap or the like and fill a tube made out of an old shower curtain ad it is waterproof. useful things when you have kitties!
Have seen picture frames covered in fabric in a department store here retailing fro about £19-£25. depending on the size and the large one wasn't very big! so will thrift some old frames and give it a go.
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It's worth investing in a proper clothes 'shaver' - large one that recharges from the mains, not one of those piddly little battery-powered ones. They make old jumpers look like new, but also get bobbles off any kind of fabric. My daughter borrows mine to keep her old wool mix winter coat looking smart. I have had mine for years, it was not expensive and I use it to spruce up all the family's clothes!
Jane
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there is a product you can buy called bobble off is shaves off the offending area or you can use a razor.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QhH2E5KLniY
if you are unpicking a piece of work and there are lots of stray bits of broken thread wrap some sellotape sticky side out around you hand and go over works a treat.
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In the past I have carefully removed bobbles using a men's razor!
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I do buy new sometimes but nothing beats the thrill of finding a bargain piece of cast off clothing or bed linen that is just waiting to be made over. I bought a stack of duvet covers for £5 about 2 years ago and am only halfway through them, cushion backs, quilt backs, skirts, tunic tops and foundation squares for scrappy quilting. My local quilt shop keeper gave me a pile of scraps because she can not sell them, I bought 1/2 yard of fabric by way of thanks and this will border the quilt made from the scraps. I sew all my bits of batting together and use every last bit, I will have a single quilt made from all new fabric and backed with a cotton charity shop sheet for £8. This will go to the Red Cross and will hopefully raise money as a raffle prize.
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When my son was younger, I rarely bought clothes for him. Friends and family happily passed on clothes their children had outgrown. I bought a few items from charity shops, back when you could actually buy clothes very cheaply in them (these days it's sometimes cheaper to buy new from certain shops). As my son grew out of his clothes, I then passed them on to friends and neighbours for their children. We have also swapped/borrowed toys, DVDs and books and baby equipment such as prams and highchairs. The only thing I insisted on buying new was shoes and I have always had his feet measured and shoes fitted. Wellies, however, can be passed on.
My favourite pair of casual trousers were badly ripped on our recent camping trip. When I got home, I carefully stitched them by hand. It took a couple of hours but it was worth it to save them.
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I have only made two quilted cushion covers so far, but most of the material I have for quilting, is bedding from charity shops.
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I put a “wanted” post on Freecycle for cotton fabric for patchwork - either small pieces or clothes not quite good enough for ebay or charity shops - and was given a lovely bag full.
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This wonderful blogger shows you how she refashions old/second-hand clothes she buys for $1 apiece (http://refashionista.net/). Inspires me to try my hand at refashioning clothes that I could buy at thrift stores here. I was taught how to make clothes in school anyway, might as well use that knowledge. You, on the other hand, inspire me to be frugal, plan our meals and make the most of my slow cooker. Greetings from the Philippines.
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I agree. I'm always on the look out for secondhand clothes for the fabric. Used to dress my children when they were young in clothes I made from cut apart adult garments. Much more satisfying to make something from nothing than to buy new!
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I don't quilt but I do buy clothes from thrift shops and alter them to fit me. Usually I have to take up the sleeves at the shoulders because on me most blouses and tops look like they have drop sleeves! This is relatively easy to do, and means that I have some lovely blouses for a fraction of the cost of new ones, and I have saved them from landfill. My children loved going to charity shops when they were small, they chose a toy or game while I scoured the shops for uniform and `'best clothes” for them. They didn't think it was odd to do this, and one in particular still loves the challenge of a rummage to find what are now termed “vintage” clothes, and items for her own home.
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What a terrific use of flannel pajamas! 🙂 When my sons were young, because they grow so very fast (always in new sizes), friends and family members would have swaps of clothing, passing along jeans and shirts and things to the next person whose child was in that size. I also shopped Salvation Army and Goodwill thrift shops, because frankly, I could get name brand items for $2 or less. A terrific savings. As adults, we're tough sizes to fit now, all of us being pretty short, but we donate clothing a few times per year. I still love to find linens, curtains and (when possible) clothing at thrift stores. It's amazing what you can find. I used to sew all the time. I sewed most of my own maternity clothes adapting patterns to fit me or making my own patterns (I'd taken a class). I sewed curtains for our first house, too. The cost of fabric has gone sky high, but I've even made lined curtains out of bed sheets. I've never really looked at it as being ethical or unethical… just thrifty. And I do buy new when I can get it on a deep discount or at least within budget and on sale as a treat, paying cash. Thanks for the tips.
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I'm not a sewer but I find all of this very inspiring. I've always favoured washing over throwing away, so when my children were babies I used the new type of cloth nappies, which usually had to be imported from USA - this was 20 years ago before the internet was in widespread use. I also used to use my own lovely soft cotton squares as baby wipes, which would go in the bucket with the nappies. I am still using these as cleaning cloths, along with cut-up terry nappies that someone gave me and all of my old tea-towels cut up as they wear out! There was no Ebay back then, otherwise I'm sure I would have got lots of their clothes that way. But I used to go to jumble sales and could get beautiful baby clothes for a few pence. My children always looked smart and nobody would have guessed they were dressed in jumble sale clothes. Last year my church held a fair and I was on the jumble table. We could hardly give most of the stuff away even though there were some lovely things. I can remember the days when dealers would queue up to get the first pickings in a jumble sale. Those days seem to be over. Perhaps there are fewer people willing to volunteer. I used to not like boot fairs because people were selling stuff for their own benefit whereas a jumble sale is usually for charity. However, I think boot fairs have taken over and it is possible to get some amazing bargains if you're willing to put in the time.
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I enjoy sewing all the time (since 1973)! I always look for gauze baby wraps or flannel wraps in the op shop. They make nice interfacing or light weight lining for tote bags. No need to buy new interfacing when these items always cost less and wash nicely before use. xx debbie
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