Sew your own
Stitching your own clothes
can be creative, save time
By Colette Hutchings
Battalion Staff
If the high cost of clothing is
running your cash and credit
supply low, but you don't want
to sacrifice fashion, why not
make your own?
It's economical, and how else
can you be sure it fits?
Men as well as women are
fashion conscious these days,
and most pattern companies
have a wide selection of designs
from which to choose, for both
sexes.
Making your own clothes
takes more time than going out
to a store and slapping down the
ol' credit card, but think of the
satisfaction of wearing your
own designer garment—no one
else has one like it.
"It's always cheaper when
you make it yourself," Ed Car-
son, manager of Hancock Fab
rics in Bryan, said.
John Pruitt, owner and mana
ger of Pruitt's Fabric Shop in
College Station, said, "Usually it
is much cheaper."
Pruitt has been in the fabric
business since 1946, when he
opened his shop in College Sta
tion.
He says that even when
adding the cost of having some
one sew the garment, he aver
ages a 50 percent saving.
If the idea of homemade
clothes is appealing but you'd
rather let someone else do the
stitching, it's no problem.
Vicki Brown, a clerk at Cloth
World in Manor East Mall, is
also the seamstress for the store.
Brown said she has been sew
ing for the public for 15 years.
Since she is also the mother of a
two-year-old, she also sews a lot
for her family.
Brown charges $6 to $8 to
make a pair of pants; $10 to $15
for dresses and $8 to $12 for
blouses or shirts. She said she
usually charges $10 for men's
shirts because they require more
work than women's.
Prices vary for several reasons
— for example, a pleated skirt
requires extra work so a higher
price is charged.
Clerks at Hancock, Pruitt,
Cloth World and JoAnne's fabric
stores say they have lists of peo
ple who will sew for the public.
Although the employees do not
guarantee the work, they said
they'll be happy to get a custom
er in touch with someone.
A meal unfit
for a king
Food can get boring.
Eating hamburger, tuna fish
and Rice Krispies day after day
can ruin one's appetite, and if
this week's story about lobster
has your taste buds working
overtime, we've come up with a
way to calm them down. Focus
has assembled a scrumptious
gourmet meal guaranteed to
make the pickiest eater appreci
ate the joys of Hamburger
Helper.
No self-respecting meal be
gins without an appetizer. We
suggest pate; whether it's
smoked goose or Strausberg liv
er pate is up to you — we can't
do everything.
Smoked goose pate in a can
contains smoked goose, pork
liver, pork and goose fat, eggs,
water, onions, gelatin, salt and
spices and that all-time favorite,
sodium nitrate. Liver pate is
made of the same ingredients,
but has the added attraction of
flour and truffles.
Use this before-dinner delight
for stuffing tomatoes, or spread
it on celery and crackers.
Now for the main course: the
options are butter sauce and
escargot, commonly referred to
as snails, or marinated squid.
If you opt for escargot, buy
them at a supermarket or spe
cialty market. We don't recom
mend using the ones on your
patio. Here's the butter sauce re
cipe, which makes enough for
five dozen snails:
8 3 A oz. butter
2 teaspoons salt
1 pinch pepper
25 sprigs parsley, finely
chopped
1 small shallot, finely chopped
1 pinch nutmeg
1 teaspoon brandy.
Mix and heat.
For 6 to 8 servings of marin
ated squid, you'll need:
2 pounds squid
Dash of salt and pepper
Va cup olive oil
Vs cup lemon juice
1 teaspoon chopped mint
1 tablespoon chopped parsley
1 clove garlic, minced
Lettuce
2 tomatoes, sliced
Lemon wedges
Clean, skin and remove ink
sacs from squid. Rinse and dry
squid. Drop squid into boiling
salted water, reduce heat and
simmer until tender, about 30
minutes.
Drain squid and season with
salt and pepper. Combine re
maining ingredients; pour over
squid and marinate in refriger
ator for several hours. Serve on
lettuce; garnish with tomato and
If you're interested in making
the garment yourself, however,
the fabric stores say they will
help with instructions if the pat
tern is too complicated.
"They don't have to buy a
thing from us — we'll help
them," Pruitt said.
Polly Lindstrom, manager of
JoAnn fabrics, said, "Our motto
is — can she make it tonight?"
Lindstrom said she has eight
een grandchildren and sewing
helps her cut costs on presents.
If the only thing holding you
back from making clothes is the
cost of the machine, you might
try renting one.
Shelly Smith, a salesclerk
from U-Rent-M in Bryan said
Singer sewing machines may be
rented for $9 a day, $25 a week,
and $50 per month.
At the Texas Rental Center in
Bryan, manager John Keith said
a Singer with buttonhole attach
ments rents for $7.50 per day.
But if you're still squeamish
about making your own clothes,
talk to the people at the fabric
stores. Maybe your mind will be
put to ease and your closet be
come adorned with the latest
fashions.
lemon wedges.
As a side dish, serve hot and
spicy pecans. These pecans are
pickled in chili powder, cumin,
salt and oil.
Prepare the salad of your
choice, then add anchovy dres
sing, which is one part anchovy
paste mixed with 4 parts mayon
naise or salad dressing.
Or have Nicoise salad: cut up
a can of heart of palm (as in
"Palm Tree"), add anchovies,
capers, tuna, ham, turkey, and
cheese chunks. Top with favo
rite dressing (anchovy?) and
garnish with hard-boiled eggs.
For dessert we recommend
sweet pickled watermelon rind:
watermelon rinds in corn syrup,
vinegar, salt and spices.
If hamburgers are more your
speed, one pound of hamburger
meat goes much further when
combined with Falafel mix.
This Middle East staple is
made of garbanzo beans, yellow
peas, onion, parsley, herbs,
spices and sea salt. Add Vs cup
water with 1 cup mix, combine
with hamburger, then fry as
usual.
Or combine one cup mix with
Vs cup water, let stand 10 mi
nutes, then drop by tablespoon
into % cup shortening and deep
fry.
Focus, TVie battalion
Friday, F eU>ruarY2^^1982.
Top Ten
Excuse me,
you have FOM
Eating lobster with finesse isn't easy.
They're big and have shells. They're just messy to eat.
But lobsters aren't the only messy things people eat. And for
some people, everything they eat is messy.
Like kids.
Remember when you were little, and you laughed, and what
ever you were drinking came out your nose?
It hurt. And it looked gross.
But breaches of proper table manners are common; don't
worry.
It happens to lots of people:
1 — Try eating squid when you have a cold. Blame disgusting
results on disgusting innards of the deep-sea creatures.
2 — Always wear red when eating spaghetti. That way when
the sauce slides down your front, you can say it's a disco
design.
3 — Devise a code with friends so you'll know if you've picked
up embarrassing food stains. Say: "F.O.M.?" Translated, this
means "Food on Mouth?" Next, "F.O.T?" means "Food on
teeth?" And the ever-popular "F.O.C.?"
4 — When serving escargot, don't tell your guests they came
from your aquarium. When they start to crawl across the
plates, just say their trail is the white sauce.
5 —What do you do with the watermelon seeds? Do you spit
them out and risk putting out someone's eye? Or do you
silently swallow them and pray no vines will grow out your
mouth?
6 — Ever notice how people eating barbecued ribs seemed to
have messy 12-inch smiles smeared across their face? Then
they wipe it on their shirt sleeve. Their next problem —
where to put the bones. It's so cannibalistic to have a pile of
bones on a plate. Try hiding them in your back pocket.
7—Avoid whole cherry tomatoes at all costs. No telling what
type of explosion will occur when you bite into them. After
wards, people looking at the wall may think it's abstract art,
but you'll know it's remnants of last night's salad.
8 — If you're at a party and your chip breaks off in the dip,
DON'T let anyone know it's yours. Blame it on your ex's
date.
9 — If you use the wrong fork at fancy dinner party, pretend
you have dyslexia. To make it seem more real, pick up the
drink belonging to the person next to you. Then miss your
mouth.
10 — Remember that some people pray before eating. Don't get
caught with half of a roll hanging out of your mouth during
Grace. It makes saying "Amen" difficult.