Challenge #2 of Alyssa’s month-long Kids Day (Month), in case you missed it, is to “make an old piece of clothing into something new.”
Here’s a couple of aprons we’ve made from the legs of an old pair of jeans and some scraps of cotton fabric: fun, quick, easy, and oh-so-practical – we’re using these to keep all of our cleaning supplies and such handy as we ensure the Museum is safe for all visitors, volunteers, and staff.
Yes, you could absolutely use an old shirt, or a sheet, or a dress, or any other non-stretchy fabric for the pockets and ties. If you have an old flour sack, you could use that, too. Playing with colours is fun, but if all you have is white, no problem – just grab your favourite non-washable markers and show off your artistic skills while you’re at it!
Feeling a little more ambitious? Making do was just as big a thing in the war years as it was during the Depression, and you could even order patterns to make a ladies’ outfit from a man’s suit. The one pictured below is a wonderful example of typical war-time thrift: no collar, partly because that’s easier but also because it saves fabric; no cuffs, no facings, no belts, all for the same reason – and if it had a lining, that would only have been because the original man’s suit it was cut from had a lining. Unfortunately, all we have is the ad for the pattern, not the pattern itself – but maybe you could challenge yourself to make the pattern! Grab a man’s suit (maybe ask the owner first if he minds you cutting it up) and decide: Which pieces will you keep? What needs to be re-cut or re-shaped? Are there any “extra” pieces, and what can you use them for?
And, a word about the flour sacks Alyssa mentioned yesterday – yes, absolutely, flour mills started making them in pretty prints (nice for their customers, but also a clever marketing ploy), and yes, the flour labels washed off…most of the time. Helen Taggart, a long-time volunteer at the Museum when I started working here more than twenty years ago, told me that the washability varied from one brand to another. Some washed out easily, but others, like the Robin Hood one at the top of the page, took a good deal of scrubbing. “He was hard to get rid of,” Helen said.
Nailed it? Let’s see your results! Show us with a picture in the comments, send us an email, or drop in to the Museum – we’re open 10:00 – 4:00, Tuesday through Saturday.