Grandma knows best
By Amy Packwood • Bankrate.com

With wartime classics like the British Make Do and Mend pamphlet flying off bookshelves and sewing shops that were recently on the verge of collapse now having trouble keeping machines in stock, it's clear that being frugal is back in fashion.

For those of us who never had to live through the learn years of wars and depressions, as our parents and grandparents did, the current economic troubles give us an excellent opportunity to connect with a few of their simple, money-saving habits.

When I told my partner's grandmother -- who we call Oma, which is Dutch for grandma -- I was writing an article on paring down in the face of a looming economic crisis, she gave me her standard piece of advice: "Don't spend what you don't have." She told me how, during the lean years, she would take her husband's pay cheque each month, cash it and divide it among four envelopes, one for each week. "What was left over from one week went into the next, and if there was money left at the end of the month, we had a little treat: an ice cream or a doughnut, or something like that."

In addition to spending only what money she had, Oma always had a large fruit and vegetable garden, sewed clothes for the whole family and made penny-pinching into a family game. It sounds so sweet and simple. And today, with the global economy pitching so wildly, it sounds smart.

Sew and save
Karyn Valino owns a friendly quilt shop called the workroom in Toronto's west end. Although she stocks the shelves with bolts of tempting new fabrics, she says that repurposing old clothes, bed sheets or curtains is a great way to save money.

"People are coming in saying, 'I just want to know how to fix things,'" she says. "Being able to take care of the maintenance of clothing means people are happier with their clothing -- that they will last longer and people save money."

Valino adds that in addition to economic and environmental advantages, there is an intangible psychological advantage. "Rather than having ten $10 shirts from H&M, having one or two shirts made locally or handmade feels better and will probably last 10 times longer," she says. "That old blanket is not just an old blanket -- it's slippers, a sweater, stuffed toys, holiday stockings, mittens, cup cozies."

Unlike earlier days, basic sewing skills are not something most people learn growing up anymore. The secret language of the sewing can be daunting, but here are the essentials of hemming, which anyone can do with a little practice:

1. Undo the current hem, and iron out the crease line.
2. Put the garment on, and determine the desired new length.
3. Place a pin horizontally where you would like the pants to end.
4. Remove the garment and lay it on a table.
5. From the pin marking the new hem line, add an additional one or two inches, depending on how wide you would like the new hem.
6. Press the new hem line, using a measuring tape to measure an even length from the bottom of the garment.
7. Trim off excess fabric along the marked line. To hide the unfinished edge, fold it approximately 1/4" toward the inside of the pant leg and iron it in place.
8. Take needle and thread and begin working a basic blind stitch from left to right.
9. Fold back the edge of hem, fasten thread inside it and make a small stitch into the garment (catching only one or two threads), then make one in hem. Keep stitches 1/2" apart.
10. Continue all the way around until hem is completely sewn.