Expired elastic
Nov. 26th, 2023 09:35 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
soniaI've been replacing a lot of elastic in clothing lately. Or paying to get it replaced, depending on the complexity involved. There's a little sewing store nearby that sells elastic by the yard, and an alteration place next door that does good work.
Okay, the one pair of pants I bought at Tienda Ho on Telegraph Ave in Berkeley something like 25 years ago, even if I haven't worn them that much, it's unsurprising that the waist elastic wasn't too springy anymore.
And the other pair of pants I bought at Paloma in Portland maybe 10 years ago and have worn a lot since then, fair enough that they were sliding off my hips.
The third pair of pants I got for $4 at a used clothing store 15 years ago, definitely have gotten my money's worth even after putting in $1.55 worth of elastic.
But the bike jacket that wasn't waterproof, so it didn't get used much in Portland, it's been maybe 7 years since I bought it at REI. Why would the wrist elastic have died when I've barely worn or washed it? I'm wondering if the heat dome in Portland (117 F outside, a lot more than that inside upstairs, to the point that the walls were HOT), was bad for elastic.
I was very pleased to realize that I had enough narrow elastic left over from fixing the second pair of pants, to fix the jacket today. No more sleeves flapping loosely over my hands.
Has elastic become lower quality over the years? I still have some elastic in my sewing kit that I believe my mom gave me with the sewing kit when I was 8, or maaaaybe I bought it in college, so it's minimum 30 years old. It still seems fine, but I'm reluctant to do the work to put it in clothing if it's immediately going to expire.
Okay, the one pair of pants I bought at Tienda Ho on Telegraph Ave in Berkeley something like 25 years ago, even if I haven't worn them that much, it's unsurprising that the waist elastic wasn't too springy anymore.
And the other pair of pants I bought at Paloma in Portland maybe 10 years ago and have worn a lot since then, fair enough that they were sliding off my hips.
The third pair of pants I got for $4 at a used clothing store 15 years ago, definitely have gotten my money's worth even after putting in $1.55 worth of elastic.
But the bike jacket that wasn't waterproof, so it didn't get used much in Portland, it's been maybe 7 years since I bought it at REI. Why would the wrist elastic have died when I've barely worn or washed it? I'm wondering if the heat dome in Portland (117 F outside, a lot more than that inside upstairs, to the point that the walls were HOT), was bad for elastic.
I was very pleased to realize that I had enough narrow elastic left over from fixing the second pair of pants, to fix the jacket today. No more sleeves flapping loosely over my hands.
Has elastic become lower quality over the years? I still have some elastic in my sewing kit that I believe my mom gave me with the sewing kit when I was 8, or maaaaybe I bought it in college, so it's minimum 30 years old. It still seems fine, but I'm reluctant to do the work to put it in clothing if it's immediately going to expire.
no subject
Date: 2023-11-27 06:04 pm (UTC)This is an excellent question. I've had the saggies in my mother's clothes (she died in 1990) as well as from expensive-if-ugly underwear I bought last year.
My compression socks have only been getting better -- maintaining their squeeze for years while also being flexible enough to don without pulling my fingers out of their sockets. (Admittedly, the cheapest compression socks are $30). So it's not the technology per se.
In my limited experience, elastic that’s threaded inside a fabric tunnel is more resilient, so perhaps exposure to washing powders or sunlight or cosmic rays?
no subject
Date: 2023-11-30 05:29 am (UTC)Glad to hear the compression sock technology is improving. That sounds genuinely useful. I tried compression socks and Did.Not.Like. But maybe they're the wrong size, who knows.