Storage can be a problem – they get tangled up in the drawer. I’m keeping mine in a basket on the top of the chest of drawers. This way it is easy to find the right coloured pair to go with my outfit.
You need an old basket. Mine is an ancient shopping basket which lost its handle years ago – and some fabric [e.g. an old pillowcase] To get the size, measure down the side, along the bottom, and up the side again, and add 5”, then do the same in a perpendicular direction. You need a rectangle at least this size. An unpicked pillowcase was just about right for my basket [27” x 34”]
Turn in the raw edge all round, about ½”, and sew down. Then put the fabric into the basket, and just pull the edge over about 1½”. Hold roughly in place with pins [push them in downwards and diagonally] Sew the fabric down with a strong needle, which you can push right through between the basket-weave, just under the rim. Pleat the surplus fabric as you go, catching it in place with running stitches. Basket weave is tough to work with – do not fret if your stitching is not terribly even. It hardly shows anyway!
You do need to line this sort of basket, or it will snag your tights. But other knitted or fabric baskets would work just as well for this method of tights storage.
You make them by grasping the waistband in your left fist, winding the legs round loosely and tucking the toes into the centre of the ‘flower’
Easy-peasy!
In case you’re wondering, my opaque tights season runs through from Oct 1st – April 1st. In the first school where I taught, that was when the heating went on and off, and I’ve just followed the pattern!
Great idea Ang! I threw all my tights away, got fed up with putting holes in them, or them ending up in a tangled mess in my drawers. Thought I might just use leggings this year, but there are occasions when tights would be better, so might try this method of storing them when I get some more.
ReplyDeleteI love tights and leggings, though mostly in the winter I wear silk longjohns under jeans,which keep me toasty on the coldest of mornings.
ReplyDeleteI love your basket tutorial--I need a basket for yarn (okay, another basket for yarn; I already have two or three), and might give your idea a try.
xofrances
I have managed to get fleece lined tights this year. I find thermals too thick underneath my clothes:they restrict movement and make me walk like one of the "Wooden Tops". I hope the fleece lined tights will work as well, but allow me to bend my legs!
ReplyDeleteJane x
Good solution!! I may try that if I can work out how to do the lining. I am sure it won't turn out the same as yours!
ReplyDeleteGosh, how organised. My tights are like a bunch of fighting snakes in a plastic tub. I try to take out a pair and the whole lot comes out in a giant lump. Must try this. :)
ReplyDeleteThis is going to be the first thing I make after this weekend's Christmas fair - about time I started looking after me!!
ReplyDelete