Threading it all together

Recently I’ve been watching This Old Thing (dubbed ‘The Vintage Clothes Show) and Tivo decided to record The Great British Sewing Bee on the overnight repeats with BSL interpreter. I don’t know why, but I’m very glad it did. As I’d like to try sewing a bit more, I thought I’d pull together the threads from these two programmes. (See what I did there?)

I’m yet to be convinced about vintage. Sure, I get the glamour and the romanticism thing, but a quick search of online vintage shops doesn’t bring up much, if anything, in my size. The skirt I got from Oxfam (advertised as being ‘woollen’, was actually mostly synthetic with a bit of mohair) had to be sent back as it was too small. Yes, I know I need to get out running again, but that’s not the point. 

The one thing I will take away from This Old Thing is the idea of revamping and upcycling clothes to make your wardrobe stand out from the crowd or to make your clothing last a bit longer. I’m no stranger to customising or dying clothing, or using decoration to make good on an otherwise ruined garment. (This is how I ended up with butterflies on my trousers – they covered up the bleach splashes). I like the idea of going through the stuff for the charity shop and seeing if there’s anything that can be salvaged and I’m also planning on raiding my grandmother’s wardrobe when I see her in a few weeks’ time. 

The one item I really want to be able to sort out, is t-shirts. For some reason, manufacturers think that if you have a bigger bosom, then you have higher shoulders. I either end up with floppy necklines, or having to wear t-shirts which are too ‘sweater girl’ for my liking. I’ve just sent a favourite blouse to the charity shop for making me look frumpy, when all I needed to do was find out how to do bust darts. (In fact, I like that blouse so much, I’m almost tempted to go back to the charity shop to see if it’s still for sale). I’ve lost count of the number of vest t-shirts I’ve had to hitch up by a couple of inches. 

This is where The Great British Sewing Bee comes in. How cool would it be to learn the techniques to adapt charity shop stuff, as well as make my own clothes, in the colour and style that I want, with the decorations and embellishments that I want ? It’s a way of keeping my wardrobe unique, stopping stuff from languishing in the charity shops and making sure I have clothes that actually fit me. Absolute result! 

Now where did I put that sewing machine ….