Bitchin' Stitching

I used to think dress-making was the most dull & old-fashioned pastime on the planet and of no interest to a liberated woman like me. What an idiot, I've since come to my senses and realised that there's nothing more empowering than creating your own perfectly fitting vintage-inspired clothes for next to nothing.

I've been hunting eBay for years for an original pair of 1970s bell bottom pants and I decided to try making my own with this 1973 pattern I bought from a car boot sale a couple of weeks ago.

This length of brushed cotton printed with birds and leaves was 10p from one of last week's jumble sales and luckily there was just the right amount.

The pattern was a basic "How To Sew" one and there were some scribbled notes inside from the 14 year-old girl who made it as a class project. If a school girl could manage it I reckoned that even a novice like I could.
 I'll probably add some vintage black rik-rak braid to the turn-ups for added retro appeal.

Excuse the mad expression, I think I'm just feeling smug about making my dream trousers in just over three hours for 35p.

Another of my latest jumble sale acquisitions.

1970s St Michael tee shirt (25p, car boot sale), denim waistcoat (had forever), Tooled leather belt (£1, car boot sale), Vintage leather bag (40p, jumble sale)

I'm no skilled seamstress, there's more about my adventures in dress making here.

A leather bag dyeing tutorial? Watch this space!