I was #2 of 6 children, all pretty close in age. 4 girls, 2 boys. Mom made almost all the clothes for the 1st 3 girls, sometimes 3 sizes of the same dress/same fabric if that's all she had. A bit embarrassing when folks made comments behind our backs about "homemade" clothes. We loved the 3 armhole wrap dresses and reversible wrap skirts. The clothes were handed down til they fell apart. I was so excited when I started Kindergarden- Mom made me a reversible jacket with a zipper And pockets! Robins egg blue on one side, a tiny puppy print on white for the other. She had saved a trunk of our clothes, but they were apparently tossed in the last year before she died. I still miss that jacket. No public assistance- a lot of bread, beans, peanut butter, and canning. Dad worked 2 - 3 jobs, Mom worked 1, and we almost never had anything new. Dad bought Mom a Montgomery Wards sewing machine when he worked there, and she used it all the time. My sister has it now. Her second machine was an early 1970's Sears Kenmore with a few cams- I have it, along with the one she gave me as a wedding present. They are still used from time to time. For group sewing I use a Brother CS6000i because it's lightweight and has a free arm and table. Mom sent leftover fabric scraps to my Great Aunt in the Adirondacks for quilt making by hand or treadle. As far as I know none of her work has survived. Both my parents wore their everyday clothes til they fell apart- virtually nothing remained for quilting when they passed away. I have a few of Dad's ties. I have always had a hard time spending a lot of money for clothes, even when I had to dress up for working in NYC. Quilting fabric is too pricey these days. I've been gathering thrift store men's shirts for quilting ala Bonnie Hunter of Quiltville.com. I wasn't brought up being "green"- just using common sense, making do, and avoiding waste.