Creating a Wholesome Wardrobe

What does a homeschooling mama do on vacation? 

 That which refreshes and inspires,

 provides rest and relaxation, 

and,
the things she rarely gets to do at home.

I rarely get quality time with my daughter, Anna, who is married and lives 1500 miles away. 

 That is mostly what I am doing.  

I did, however, bring a whole suitcase of sewing along with me on my vacation.  

It is a need at the moment,
to dress the rapidly growing 7 yr old young lady at our house. 

  I really enjoy sewing, 

and it is something I usually do not take the time to do at home.

Bethany is growing tall and slim. 

 So slim that nothing that is long enough for her stays on her!

While here in New Mexico with Anna, I bought this book:

...Which has over 20 patterns in it,

 including  patterns for a peasant blouse, capri pants, and summer pjs. 

These were all items on my list, so this proved a very cost effective way to go about it. 

I bought the book at Hobby Lobby, 

with a coupon, of course.

So far, I have finished two blouses and one skirt, 

with another skirt just awaiting some trim detail.  

A third skirt is cut out and next on my list.  

The patterns are simple and take less than 2 hours per garment to complete. 

 I am so pleased with the results 

that I hope to continue to round out her new wardrobe when I get back to Idaho.

People often ask me where we (girls) find our clothing. 

 We rarely buy clothing at Walmart. 

We do look over the clearance racks in the nicer stores.  

Fred Meyer, JC Penny, L.L. Bean, Land's End are a few favorites.

I like to think of shopping as I do hunting:  

It is exciting to think what might be out there.  

Searching for it usually takes time and skill, 

but often times, the Lord just blesses, 

and we come home with bags in hand, the evidence of a great and successful hunt.

When we cannot find what our wardrobe is needing,
 we get out the sewing machine and fashion custom articles that suit our tastes.

I find both shopping and sewing enjoyable, 

plus, seeing my girls in the feminine dress we prefer 

is well worth my efforts. 

Anna lives so close to good shopping that we have been out and about several times. 

 We both found plenty of modest, feminine articles at Rue 21 in the mall.

 Rue 21 had long floral skirts, 

solid maxi skirts, 

and this lovely long romantic skirt that I quite liked.

Anna, Rose and I often find pretty blouses and great deals at this store.

Although we love to thrift shop, 

surprisingly, the mall can be a great place to find nice pieces for creating a wholesome wardrobe. 

We both liked several items at Maurices, 

one very nice long black skirt on clearance nearly came home with me.

Also,we have found Pinterest very helpful for gaining ideas

as well as helping each of us to create an individual style
which will then help us to put together a cohesive wardrobe.

This is how I plan-
For Bethany, I would like to make three basic skirts like this:




 -in Navy, Brown and Gray.
Paired with the same colors of shoes and tights,
this will form her wardrobe basics this year.
I will be shopping for lightweight cardigans of the same to extend through spring and fall.
I am sewing up several cotton blouses in a variety of colors: pale pink,
purple(her favorite) white, cream, red, light green, and peach.

Added to these will be four multi-colored skirts 
and 3 capri pants: one tan and two light denim.
To finish it all off, traditional hair bows, one of each basic color-  navy, black, red, and white and pink.
Underthings need to be thought of, several pair of bloomers,



as well as two sets of light weight PJ's and a nightgown.
(nightgown will be peasant blouse plus length).

Here is the Pinterest look I desire to create for Bethany:




Are we having fun yet?
Most definitely! 

Notes on Children's Fall/Winter Clothes

When the cold weather settles in,

 we begin to get out all the snuggly, warm clothing I have collected for the children through the year. 

 I am always on the lookout for wool articles,

 homemade sweaters,

 flannel lined pants, 

quality fleece garments and such. 

 Knowing the Littles are cozy, warm, and comfortable in chilly weather is a very satisfying thing for me.  

I guess I am just a cozy-comfy sort of gal. 

 Making up the children's beds in 

layers of loveliness

 for winter is also a joy to me. 

 I relish the puttering that comes as we prepare for the change of seasons, 

it is a kind of nesting that is soothing, relaxing and satisfying.

Some time ago, as we were thrift shopping, 

I came across two pairs of used, 

hand knit socks. 

 I thought they were charming, and brought them home.  

They have now been through two winters with us, and are still in great shape. 

 Since we live in  a cold snowy region, we usually purchase a pair of boot or ski socks

 for each of the children every winter. 

 Last year I noticed, as I put the winter clothes away, 

that the hand knit socks were in great shape but the boot socks were very worn,

 or completely worn out- needing to be thrown away. 

 Therefore, this year, I hunted around until I found hand knit socks for the children,

 made by a local lady, since I haven't acquired that skill

 (yet..I am picturing me rocking in a chair, knitting with a great white bun of hair on my head-smile-). 

I had a pair of hand knit socks made for each of the little ones, 

then, having fallen in love with the look and charm of hand knit, 

 proceeded to purchased mittens and hats as well.

The hand knit socks cost the same as the boots socks we were getting,

 but last two to three times longer.

We buy most of our clothes in thrift stores,

 but on the occasion that I really need a particular item and cannot find it there, I shop on ebay. 

 If we are still in need, or, if I find time and creativity to sew, we fill in the various wardrobe needs thus. 

 I really love to sew, but rarely do. 

 This summer, I did manage a few days to whip up a few skirts and blouses for Olivia. 

 Such little items are frugally and easily accomplished with left overs or repurposed articles. 

 My favorite garment ended up to be the little gray wool skirt with a flannel lining. 

 These skirts take about 30 minutes to make start to finish and need no pattern. 

 It is just a simple rectangle measured to the wanted length, then finished with an elastic casing. 

 I also made a flannel lined denim skirt for her that she has already been wearing quite a bit this fall.

Even if one bought fabric from a small one's skirt such as this, 

the cost would likely be less than $5.oo. 

Since I like to thrift shop, I keep my eye out for garments of good quality fabric 

that are on the tag of the day sale. 

 My last trip out I bought a large wool skirt for .99 just for the fabric,

 which can be used for two or three small skirts. 

 Sewing does not always have to be costly.

My grandma sewed this way, and first  introduced me to the idea.

There is a great satisfaction from making
something
out of nothing, 

and even more so if it was done in a frugal way.

For girls, dresses can be difficult to find, 

more so the older they get.

 Mothers often ask me where we find our dresses. 

Thrifting or yard sales often provide a variety of showy dresses for special events and church,

 but for everyday,

 I favor Land's End long sleeve knit print dresses.  

These dresses are comfortable, of good quality so they wear well,

 and they have that wholesome look that I really prefer to see on our girls. 

 We have done well finding ours on ebay.

I should also say that we always pray over our family's needs before we begin shopping, 

and God is so good to meet those needs time and time again.

Over the years, we have come to realize that high quality clothes last,

 and can be passed down still looking good from one child to the next.

  When Joe was a little tike, 

we bought him a new pair of Carhardt Overalls.

 Joe wore them, 

then Jim,

 then Ben, 

as well as Bethany,

 and now Gabe.

  They still look good.  

Cost more initially, but last by far longer,

 and so are really the more cost effective way to go in a big family.

I guess that why I enjoy this process so much

 is because I think that meeting our family's clothing needs 

really is of great value beyond putting fabric on their bodies.

  I see it as an avenue of life giving, 

 and an opportunity to nurture, 

as well as train them (while they are still young) about good clothing choices. 

Herein is a chance to take the mundane act of shopping,

 and cultivate beauty with it for the benefit of our family,

 instead of passing by without notice, or considering it just a task of drudgery. 

We can make the ordinary task special, and by doing so,
 we enrich our family life.

Clothing a Large Family

Here, on Saturdays, I am addressing the practical side of raising a large family.  We will share how we manage our home with 8 and soon to be 9 children.  These are things I wish I would have known when I was struggling to adjust to large quantity everything, or, at about child # 5. This week, I am sharing how we clothe our family on a small budget.

I often get asked, “How on earth do you  provide for your 8 children?”  

The answer is simple, we rarely buy anything new.

  Most of our clothing and housewares come from thrift shopping or yard sales. 

We happily give and receive presents that were bought second hand,

and most importantly, we have a system.

I have learned that it is less expensive to buy clothing when you find it,

not when you need it. 

If I see a nice piece of clothing for under .99 cents, I will likely buy it. 

This month, I bought Bethany two dresses in a size 8.  She is wearing a 5 now. 

They were beautiful dresses.  One I paid $1.99, the other was .99.

I don't just buy randomly.

I have Rubbermaid totes for every size newborn to adult sm, boy and girl, 

as well as boy shoes and girl shoes, coats, snow suits, 

gloves and hats, rubber boots and snow boots. 

Every box is nearly full.  When the seasons change, we go shopping in the Rubbermaid boxes.

 The critical component to my system is that every box has been inventoried,

with the inventory list kept in my daily organizer, which I call “my brain.” 

So I know that I have nearly no clothes for Bethany in size 10, but am getting a good assortment in 7/8.  I also know that I do not have snow boots in a size 5 or 7.

We live so far out in the country, that I don’t get to a lot of yard sales, may be two or three a year.

I do have my favorite thrift stores which I go hunting in once a month with my clothing budget. 

We spend an average of $100 per person, per year on clothes.

Below are some things for the wee one I bought for .75 cents each.

 

I always pray over my shopping list when we go to town. 

This month, my husband really needed jeans.  He is tall, so it is rare to find something in his size.  When I checked the men’s section for the needed items, 

there was not one pair of jeans in nice shape, but two!

  God had blessed.  We went on to find 5 dress shirts, also on his list, for .99 a piece. 

On our way to town we discussed getting his wing tips re- soled.  He has had them since college.  But, there in the shoe section was a nice pair of leather wing tips in his size for .99, 

the special marked down tag of the day.

Buying off season is usually the way to get the cheapest  clothes. 

I buy whatever I can find in my price range regardless of season or size,

as long as it fills a need on the inventory list. 

I am looking for the good deals, so I check all the racks in the sizes I have needs in. 

This does take time.  I spend all day at it, usually with my husband, who enjoys watching me hunt, and is delighted with our frugal approach.

My goal is to not accumulate more clothes than we need,

and keep my family in nice looking, well made classic clothes. 

For example, the particulars I aim for with the boys for winter are 10 long sleeve shirts, 

two Sunday best pants, two nice jeans,  3 warm pj’s, one good sweater, 2 pairs wool socks,

a 3 in 1 coat, snow pants, snow boots, slippers, and a play/chore coat.

Since we do sew, I also keep an eye out for usable fabric that we might sew up to fill a need.

I just snatched up 2 yards of girly fleece at a yard sale for .75 cents, 

with the intentions of creating a snug nightgown for Bethany next year.

(she has plenty of good warm jammies this year).  

By purchasing our clothing  this way, I spend far less than the average family,

but end up just as well dressed, and have fun enjoying the hunt to boot. 

My responsibility, as manager of the home, I feel, is to be a good steward of what God has given us, endeavoring to “look well to the ways of my household” by doing my best to meet the needs of our family without being excessive in my shopping or overspending my budget.

The children are very aware of how God provides good clothing for them

at low prices or even  free. 

We all thank the Lord together for the way that he blesses us each shopping trip. 

We know he cares about the little things I our lives,

because we trust Him and give credit to Him for all our provisions.

Feeling feminine

My daughters and I enjoy dressing in skirts, and making outfits that match our personalities and moods of the day.  I thought the girls were so cute I would share some of their favorite outfits with ya all. Perhaps it will inspire you to share with a young lady that could use some encouragement to dress in a more modest feminine way, I hope so.  Our family shops largely at thrift stores, and finding something lovely to add to our wardrobes is the thrill of the hunt!

  Here are Rose and Anna in what I would call spunky outfits for spring, which we thought was here, until it snowed today.  It can be difficult to find shirts and blouses that cover everything we think they should and look feminine too.  When we go shopping we pray that God would provide for our family the things we need. He is ever so faithful.  I cannot recall the times, over and over, that a particular item was needed and found thrifting.

Long flowing skirts are my personal favorite, but I am an incurable romantic.  In summer, we like to take a long barefoot walk, even in the rain, in our long flowy skirts.  Quite picturesque.  Finding beautiful clothing that does not scream SEXY is not always easy.  If you are having problems finding appropriate things, try to find someone with the gift of shopping.  They are around and would most likely be overjoyed to have an opportunity to help you.  We have made jokes that Shopping could be a spiritual gift....more likely someone who loves to shop has the gift of encouragement or giving.  In either case, they are the kind of people who really would like to give you a hand at something they are good at.

These are more of a going to church or town look, a nice change from the everyday denim (dead ringer for a homeschooler).  This was entirely too much fun, almost as fun as re arranging furniture, which I am about to do next.  I know we just moved, but not everything is perfect yet, so I must make some improvements you know!
Dressing modestly is fun and exciting.  It is the right thing to do to protect our brothers in Christ, to not be a stumbling block to them.  Modesty is a joy, a way to express our uniqueness and feminine appeal at he same time.  Some things we do to make sure our clothes will not be revealing are:  bend over in the mirror to make sure the neckline of the top does not lend a view.  Sit down to check skirt length(some skirts look fine when standing, but when sitting show more leg than we would like.  When wearing pants, sit, stand, walk, bend, to assure no midriff shows, we also do this for tops- lift arms, bend, lean forward while sitting, etc.  The layered, long tops that are now popular are really helpful for this, especially if you have a long torso like Rose.
Hope you enjoyed in our fun!