When I was in HS I made my own clothes, you could get cotton fabric 5 yards for a dollar, patterns were about a dollar and thread and zipper and you had a new dress for about $5. Fabric came in 36" and 45" width and the pattern had yardage for both widths. Today buying fabric and patterns are a lot like buying hot dogs and buns. Why they do not make the same number of hot dogs and buns in a package is beyond me.
Now fabric is 42" wide instead of 44/45" as the pattern states. So when are patterns going to come into the new fabric width size? I have got to the point where I buy an extra yard of fabric and hope I have enough. That adds more money to the project and they wonder why people are not making their own clothes anymore. Well many do not want the extra cost of $10-$15 a yard for just cotton and hoping they have enough or do the math to try and figure out how much more they need. Because we all know that cotton shrinks a lot and you never get the true yardage you paid for after you wash it.
I will continue to make my own clothes because I get the fit I want and need and I get to pick something that does not make me look like an old lady or a 20 year old. Hey pattern designers get with the program and fix the pattern yardages to match the fabric width.
1 comment:
The fabric thing is frustrating. When I was younger, and just starting out sewing, I went with the smaller yardage listed, not really understanding what was going on. I just barely got the pattern to fit on the fabric, sometimes.
Making your own clothes is definitely no longer the economic choice. What a pity. I sometimes wonder how things got so messed up.
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