The Good Old Days - Remembering Old Fabric Shops
06-27-2011, 11:21 AM
#151
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Location: Frederick, OK
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I think you’re right. The Bureau of Weighs & Measures used to check my gas pumps back in Colorado during the 70s, but they put a sticker on each pump so the customers could see that it had been inspected. Maybe they had a certificate posted nearby for the fabric meters?
CD in Oklahoma
CD in Oklahoma
06-27-2011, 03:45 PM
#152
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Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: Michigan
Posts: 757
Originally Posted by ThayerRags
I don’t know if any of my meters work correctly or not. We haven’t planned on ever using them again, so I never have tried them.
As far as getting one calibrated for accuracy, I wouldn’t have a clue who might still do that. Which makes me wonder...
Who was responsible for making sure that they measured correctly? Were there inspectors that went around checking the meters for accuracy? I don’t see any stickers on my meter that would indicate that it had been checked by an Official. Surely they didn’t depend on irate customers to let them know that their meter was out of whack!
CD in Oklahoma
As far as getting one calibrated for accuracy, I wouldn’t have a clue who might still do that. Which makes me wonder...
Who was responsible for making sure that they measured correctly? Were there inspectors that went around checking the meters for accuracy? I don’t see any stickers on my meter that would indicate that it had been checked by an Official. Surely they didn’t depend on irate customers to let them know that their meter was out of whack!
CD in Oklahoma
I remember when the meters disappeared and I recall a clerk telling my mom that using the yardstick and the cutting groove were the new way to measure because the meters weren't as accurate.
06-27-2011, 04:20 PM
#153
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Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: S. W. Indiana
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Originally Posted by Glassquilt
The meters worked well on woven fabric but not on knit which stretches. So while the meter reports 8yds in reality it might only be 7½yds.
What is the name of your very lovely avatar quilt, Glassquilt? It's a beauty!
06-27-2011, 04:22 PM
#154
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Location: S. W. Indiana
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Originally Posted by jpthequilter
Originally Posted by GrannieAnnie
Originally Posted by VickyS
Woolworth's and the 5 & Dime were the places I got the fabric for my 4-H sewing projects using those machines. Trying to find the "new" 45" material - so the clothing patterns had different yardage layouts for 36" and 45" material.
I remember the move it an inch forward and back, depending on whether the previous rip put the fabric way out of a straight line - the cheaper materials were not always woven evenly so they didn't tear straight. Then you would get home and have to straighten out the tears by pulling a thread and cutting along the pulled thread line. So much work!
I remember the move it an inch forward and back, depending on whether the previous rip put the fabric way out of a straight line - the cheaper materials were not always woven evenly so they didn't tear straight. Then you would get home and have to straighten out the tears by pulling a thread and cutting along the pulled thread line. So much work!
But, if you pull a thread and cut along it, the fabric is not distorted along the edges of the cut like it is when it is pulled when the fabric is torn and the threads along the torn edges ravel a little bit.
Oops, I misunderstood the post. Sorry!
06-27-2011, 04:26 PM
#155
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Location: S. W. Indiana
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Originally Posted by flowerjoy
I remember kettle Cloth... I liked it for skirts and shorts... it was a bit stiff and would hold the shape rather nicely... and Cloth World is closed???? Wow! It goes fast!
06-27-2011, 04:38 PM
#156
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Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: Southern California
Posts: 880
The basement of Ben Franklin - which had the money canisters as well. What a great memory. They had the best grilled cheese bread hot dogs on the planet! The bread was grilled on both sides, the dogs were split open and grilled, and the whole thing was served open faced with as many dill pickles as you could eat. Heaven! (Of course, my travels back then were about 50 miles radius from where I lived, so it's possible someone else had better hot dogs...)
06-27-2011, 04:39 PM
#157
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Join Date: May 2010
Location: N.E. FLA
Posts: 250
We had two dime stores in our neighborhood where we bought fabric. When we visited our grandmother in Georgia, we bought at Penney's. The JoAnn's here still uses the meter for measuring decorator fabric and batting.
06-28-2011, 05:17 AM
#158
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Location: Frederick, OK
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Originally Posted by justflyingin
I remember when the meters disappeared and I recall a clerk telling my mom that using the yardstick and the cutting groove were the new way to measure because the meters weren't as accurate.
The table was set up for two cutters to work at the same time on opposite sides of the table. Each cutter had a small drawer just below the top for tools, and the rest of the area under the table was for storage and has sliding doors on two sides.
BTW - Rawdon E. Tomlinson, the “T” in TG&Y, was from Frederick Oklahoma and back in 1935 was one of the founders of the TG&Y chain of stores.
CD in Oklahoma
TG&Y Cutting Table
[ATTACH=CONFIG]217954[/ATTACH]
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