When I was endowed in the Oakland Temple about 12 years ago, the member of the Temple Presidency who spoke to the group of us going through for the first time talked about garments. One thing that particularly struck me was that after the marks had been cut out, he said that the garments lost all sacredness and could be used as rags.

I was taught the same thing as BryanJ and I do use cut up garments as rags, so I have no problem with the use of a piece of garment top as a lovey. Once the marks are cut out it is just fabric, so why not cut a few squares to comfort a little one. I had a friend long ago who would bring one of her slips to church because her daughter used it as a lovey. I think a square of the slip fabric would have been a little less embarrassing for them when they pulled it out of the diaper bag. Though we all got a good laugh out of it!

Agree with 1&2.

I’ve cut up Bill’s old cotton garments for rags. Once you cut them up, it’s no big deal. I don’t think they’re over-priced. I got Bill garments for Christmas and they’re cool because they look like T-Shirts and I think are more attractive.

I wish my 2-year-old would use a piece of my cut-up garment tops as a security item. He prefers the method Anita refers to in #8. I’ve tried large pieces, smaller pieces, pieces with and without the laces edging and he STILL prefers to dig out my used garment tops from the laundry and carry them around the house (I do make an effort to keep them out of sight in the laundry bin and father down so they’re harder for him to reach).

I never had this problem with my older child and hope the younger one will outgrow it sometime soon. We discourage the hand-in-shirt behavior, but he still wants to be close to me and will reach up my sleeve looking for the edge of my garments.

I know several parents who have used the cut-up-old-garment technique to calm little ones. One friend’s child, in particular, is now 7 and still sleeps with his “silky.” To the rest of the world, it’s just a piece of fabric (as it is to us once the marks are cut out). Why not get some additional peace from it?

#6, re: your statement that garments are overpriced.
They aren’t made in China. They aren’t made by the 40ft container load. You can’t compare the cost of a pair of knee length garments to a pair of briefs. Not only is it substantially more material, but the economies of scale are dramatically smaller, the type of construction more costly and time consuming, the cost of materials higher, and the wages for production higher.

Newlywedded and everyone else: I am ashamed to admit how long we wear our G’s. We wear them until they are practically pornographic, see-thru threadbare. I gotta say, the elastic waistband on the men’s bottoms are amazing. They never stretch out or break. Very good quality. I am with #10, by the time we are done with them, I cannot imagine using them as cleaning rags and definitely not as loveys. I would be embarrassed for anyone to see them.

I totally agree with all those who have commented that Gs are fine for other purposes as long as the marks are cut out and disposed of properly. I, too, cannot use them for much once they cannot serve as Gs due to their threadbare state. Once they’ve been bleached, and rinse washed, they serve as wonderful “cheese cloth” and tea strainers, though! :)

If I have a child who will calm for a square of my Gs, I’ll definitely use it!

I have no problems keeping my cotton-mix garments functional, it’s my husband who likes in run with his that drives our bank account down the tubes. It just seems like for him the material with holes, and the one that almost feels like plastic, tear the second he sits.