General Chat

I remember sides to middle sheets, when the bottom sheet got a bit thin Mum used to cut them down the middle, sew a hem on the thin bits then sew the thicker bits together to make good again it would then be the top sheet. I’m in my 60s now by the way. :-D

My mum did that too!

My ne'er do well ex was kind of forced into doing a job, even if it was beneath his dignity, and , to my surprise, I turned the collars on all his shirts so he had something decent to wear.

I have been known to turn sheets sides to middle. Not often but I have done it and I know my Mum did. (probably of necessity during the war years. (I am 77).

Also rag rugs, who else remembers making them?

Mum turned sheets sides to middle. When these gave up, the best part of the sheet might be made into a pillow case or pram / cot sheet for the next generation.

My grandmother, who lived in a Welsh cottage had a rag rug in front of the hearth.

We never had them at home, but Dad did buy rug wool, wound it round a wooden ruler-like stick, which had a groove down one side and carefully cut it into short lengths for making home-made rugs with hook and canvas.
You could buy ready cut wool, but I would guess that it was a bit cheaper to cut it at home.
The rugs lasted for years.

I remember making "proggy mats" as a kid. My mam still had some in the bedrooms when I got married.

Kath. x

I made one recently with the bits left from the quilt..

Fred's mate has it and he likes to sit with his shoes off and his toes buried in the rag.

I remember sheets to the middle, and turning collars and cuffs

My grandmother made rag rugs, and always had a couple in her kitchen, which was also the main living "room" in the house ... the front room was for "important visitors"!

My mother taught me to sew and knit by the time I was about 6. I had to give up knitting last year when it became too painful to knit more than a couple of rows .......... we've been sending boxes of my wool and patterns over to my daughter!

Did anybody else have to follow this rule when changing the sheets?
" Top sheet on bottom, clean sheet on top"
Of course this was when all sheets were white and there were no fitted bottom sheets.

Yes, we did that when I was young - mum didn't have a washing machine in either the converted bus or the Bessacarr caravan - and there were 4 children! :-(

Yes we did it when first married. Luckily we had two sets of sheets as our first sheets were pale lilac.

Yes, sides to middle for us too and pillowcases afterwards. I don't think Mum did it when we were young, unless by hand, as we didn't have a sewing machine till I was 12 and I got great aunt's machine then it was me did it, and turned Dad's collars too

I went on to make curtains and bedspreads at home and then my own curtains, first duvet cover and cushion covers as well as clothing

Lizxx

Can you see the--disposable set -of today doing that.! !but then the bedding fabrics of today are much more durable.

My mum did it and also with towels with good bits made into facecloths or dusters.cant remember her ever turning shirt collars.

Not only did I do sides to middle.I used to make under pillowcases out of sheets that had gone thin in the middle.
I used to have a guest house and out of season ,all under pillowcases were renewed..

Liz, my Mum never had a sewing machine neither did I until I was given one by my mother in law in 1984ish, it wasn’t electric but it certainly made sides to middle a lot easier and I appreciated how hard my Mum worked on that kind of thing.

We did the bottom sheet off, top sheet to bottom, clean sheet on top ...............

and we also did it when I worked summers in small private hotels in Frinton, Minehead and Whitby ................ sheets were only changed weekly and then it was top sheet to the bottom and clean sheet on top


I made sheets for my daughter's cot after she was born using sheets that OH had bought before we were married but that didn't fit the bed we bought after we got here .......... the bed was a long double Scandinavian one and the sheets were regular North American double.

Like Liz, I've also made my own curtains and duvet covers ............ OH gave me a sewing machine soon after we married as he knew that I'd always made a lot of my own clothes.

So I made about 3 cot sheets, 1 pram sheet, and then later a couple of pillow cases!


We were in Australia for about 10 months when daughter was a toddler, and I made several dresses for her, sewing them hand.


I'm even still doing it .................. I have a couple of small pillows that I use when we travel, they're about half the size of regular pillows. I needed new pillow cases for them, so I cut down some regular sized older cases to fit, and even did some by hand last summer because I couldn't be bothered getting the machine out.


I think once you've been used to re-using, you find it hard to throw out!

I've never made a duvet cover, but my ex bought me a semi-industrial sewing machine for my 18th birthday, and I used to make clothes (both for him and me).
I was a trendsetter - I made him a pair of jeans - with twisted legs :-D
I made curtains, and re-covered a sofa twice.
I also used to knit our jumpers, by hand. I knitted my first jumper out of Shetland wool, whilst living in a tent, then went on to knit 2 amazing Icelandic jumpers, and an Icelandic cardigan each!

Children came along, ex bought me a knitting machine - I knitted AND sewed most of the children's clothes.
As they grew up, clothing became cheaper, so I used to make costumes. I made the 3 of us Tudor costumes for a pageant, Victorian costumes for a school centenary (all outfits out of old curtains), and a couple of Saxon outfits for the grandchildren. Still using the machine bought when I was 18!

I haven't made anything much in the past few years, apart from some pads for the local cat & kitten centre, out of a duvet my cat had peed on, that was too big to wash in my washing machine (must have been 105 tog) , and a duvet cover I'd managed to drip a bit of paint on.
Once the duvet was cut, and the duvet covering sewn on, I could wash the duvet squares, and no-one new my cat had peed on it! :-D

When I was expecting my daughter in 1973 I made cot/pram sheets from new fabric and knitted and crocheted matinee jackets and angel tops. Many are still in my loft as they sadly didn't get used but I used the bed linen for my son 8 years later.

I altered the curtains for this house, bought new to go with the wallpaper, I dismantled them and lined them with toning fabric, and did the same with the pelmet/valance but with a border showing of the blue lining. (That was in 1997, they are still up as o.h. doesn't wanr to change the decor and it's his house lol)

If I got the news I long for, that I am to be a grandma, I would get my knitting needles out straightaway lol

Lizx

My mum used to do that too
Many sheet that got thin got turned about , and it was done by hand

Every week too the beds were changed . The bottom sheet taken off to wash and the top sheet bottomed with a clean top sheet

When mum was expecting our youngest sister in 1949 a double sheet was quartered for cot sheets .i was 12 years old and was roped in to blanket stitch the edges
We did them in blue .pink and lemon cos then you didn't know the sex till the baby was born
Similarly a double blanket was cut down

Mum and my older sister and me would sit and knit in an evening to see how quick we could knit bootees
Mum would help with the pattern and often we would manage three pairs in one evening
Matinee coats too were a joint knit
Mum would knit the back . Sister and I would knit the fronts and we both did sleeves
Mum would put it all together and finish off
The new baby had a big Wardrobe of hand knits by the time it was born

The knitting experience stood me in good stead when I was expecting our daughter and as she grew up . She had some beautiful knits of jumpers , skirt and top suits etc