<< 40. Buy wash-and-wear, permanent press, and wrinkle-resistant clothing whenever possible. Washing is cheaper than dry cleaning. Permanent press clothing will require little or no ironing (ironing uses electricity). Wrinkle-resistant clothing will need little or no pressing between wearings. Save your money and your valuable time for other pursuits.
45. If you don’t know how to sew, check the newspaper advertisements, the telephone directory, and various other sources (such as fabric stores and friends) for information on locating a seamster in your area. Or, you might want to take a simple, introductory sewing course to help you get started sewing. Call your Land Grant University’s County Extension Service for information on such a course. Being able to sew could save you money on making, altering, and repairing your and your family’s clothing.
46. Make a garment at home if it would be cheaper than purchasing it ready-made. Add up the costs of the fabric, lining, pattern, trimmings, buttons, zippers, snaps, hooks and eyes, hem tape, seam binding, interfacing, thread, etc. Next, check to see how much a similar, new garment would cost on sale.
Don’t just assume that you can always make a particular garment cheaper than you can buy it new. Also, I have said nothing about the hours of your time which will be needed to make the garment. Do you have extra time? Do you enjoy sewing as a hobby? Is sewing relaxing for you? You will, of course, take these and other things into consideration when deciding whether to make or buy a new garment.
47. Crochet or knit sweaters and other clothing if this is cheaper than buying them ready-made. Total the costs of the pattern, crochet thread or knitting yarn, needles, and any other supplies. Compare this cost with the price of a new sweater or other garment of comparable quality available on sale at various stores and other outlets. For example, most stores will reduce the price of sweaters by up to 75 percent or more at the end of winter. Your purchase can be worn for a while and then stored away until next fall.
Don’t just assume that you can knit a sweater, for example, for less than you will have to pay for a new one. It is important that you consider the time involved in crocheting or knitting. Unless you crochet or knit as a hobby or just have extra time on your hands, figure in the cost of your time before you invest it in making your own garments.
48. Save appropriate nonwoven, used fabric softener sheets (similar to some nonwoven interfacing) and use them when possible as interfacing in sewing. Why buy all of your interfacing if these sheets will serve some of your purposes?
49. Save and reuse clothes patterns if possible. Even if you have had them for a number of years and they are slightly out-of-style, minor changes could make them stylish again. With patterns ranging in price from $3.00 to $6.00 and more each, it would make good common sense to reuse your old patterns. A friend of mine recently made a dress from a pattern which her grandmother had used to make a dress for her own daughter over 25 years ago. No changes had to be made in the pattern to make it stylish.
50. Buy individual envelopes of clothes patterns with each envelope containing several different garments or versions of garments which you can use, such as two different pairs of slacks and two different jackets, three different shirts, two different pairs of slacks and shorts, or a long and a short skirt and a blouse with and without sleeves. Buying these types of patterns should cut down on the number of patterns you need to buy.
51. Trade clothes patterns with relatives, co-workers, neighbors, club members, and friends. Trading can cut your outlay of money for patterns.
52. If you have clothes patterns you know you will never use again and you cannot trade them, sell them. You can recover part of your cost.
53. Make children’s clothes with built-in growth features such as elastic in the waist, cuffs on the slacks, knitted fabrics, deep hems, and generous seam allowances. These features will enable children to continue to wear their clothes for an extended period of time and reduce the overall clothing budget. (See number 37 in this section.)
54. Launder washable fabric before you cut out and make a garment. If you make the garment before pre-shrinking the fabric, you may find that the completed garment is too short or too tight to wear after you wash it; and you will have wasted your time and money. Also, be sure to launder zippers, woven interfacings, lining fabric, lace, and other items if they are not pre-shrunk.
55. Use your leftover scraps of fabrics to make “patchwork” skirts, jackets, vests, and other items of clothing. Such garments can be quite stylish, and the cost will be minimal.
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