Sewing with Vintage Patterns
I recently caught up with my grandparents, while back in Perth for the weekend. My grandma has always been a keen sewer as long as I can remember, and spent most of my childhood fashioning homemade pyjamas, dressing gowns and all sorts of clothing for me. I've always assumed that grandma has a lot of sewing things hidden away, but hadn't ever really seen what she'd kept until recently. After dropping my grandparents home from morning tea, my grandma asked me to come inside and began to go through her treasure trove of sewing patterns. It turns out she has all sorts of bits and pieces hidden in her house, including DIY pattern kits (which unfortunately wouldn't fit in my suitcase). She gave me these ever-so-vintage bikini patterns, along with offering me numerous other sewing kits. After finishing the bikini that I made over summer, I vowed not to venture into making swimwear again, due to the enormous amount of effort involved in sewing with stretchy fabric. I have to say though, it is very tempting with these new (or not-so-new) patterns! The presence of 'Copyright 1977' makes me ponder - have bikinis really changed much since their invention? Each season there will be new fabrics, colours and patterns, and a tendency to lean towards high waist, hipster etc, but at the end of the day, bikinis are much the same now as they were in the 70's. So on that note, it looks like I will have to embrace the scary swimwear fabric again this summer and make some more bathers. Maybe this time I'll save myself some effort, and go with the simple triangle bikini!