#SewSeventies - A Summer of Seventies-inspired sewing
Hi everyone, Georgie here! I hope you are all keeping well and enjoying the summer which seems to have finally arrived in the UK.
I’m not sure how fabric challenges normally start but when it comes to #SewSeventies I can say that it definitely began with a growing enthusiasm for the grooviest, vibrant and most colourful fabrics after months of living in boring leggings and hoodies. Yvette (@blossomsandwich) kept buying the boldest brightest florals from Hey Sew Sister (which obviously I already loved as I picked them for the shop!) and then brought this Fabric Godmother fabric to my attention:
It’s really not often I feel this level of excitement about a fabric so I bought it and suddenly feeling inspired by 70s pattern, design and fashion I thought why not start a “challenge'“ (not really a challenge, more of an organised theme for the instagram sewing community) and roped Yvette in since we’d already spent so much time swooning over 70s inspired fabric and designs. We are certainly not short of sewing challenges in Instagram but we thought this might be one that people might be excited as us to get on board with as it is quite broad (share you new makes, existing makes, WIPs, styling, etc) and running over the months of June, July and August so plenty of time to get involved and hopefully no rush at all. We thought it would be fun to have some prizes for participation too and we are absolutely delighted to have 15 wonderful small businesses on board sponsoring a whole host of brilliant prizes. There will be 5 winners for each of the three months (that we will pick from posts using the hashtag #SewSeventies on Instagram) so lots of opportunities to win though of course participation and engagement with your fellow sewists, making new friends and sharing ideas and inspiration are the most important things about this ‘challenge’!
The lovely sponsors of #SewSeventies are:
Sewmesunshine
Pigeonwishes
Cocowawa
Pink Coat Club
In a Haystack
The Rag Shop
Fleurs et Ours
ByGraziela
Little Rosy Cheeks
Fabric Corner Lincoln
Sewsewsew
Stitch and Ink fabrics
Sew Confident
The Sewist Fabric Shop
As well as us - Hey Sew Sister!
Inspiration
The 70s was obviously a whole decade so there were of course a lot of different trends - hippie, glamour, disco, boho to name but a few. There were voluminous midi/maxi dresses as well as short mod dresses. Flares and Palazzo leg pants. Prairie dresses and tailored jumpsuits. This summer I am especially drawn to long dresses with big sleeves which does not sound like much of a departure from my usual style but I will focus on 70s inspired design elements such as bell and cape sleeves.
For pattern options, you could consider sourcing an authentic vintage pattern (try charity shops, eBay, Etsy, etc) or there are re-issues of vintage patterns. Other more modern patterns will have 70s inspired designs or design elements since style and fashion always comes round in circles.
The Telegraph
This Zandra Rhodes for Vogue, Pattern V1627 is a gorgeous option for a 70s inspired kaftan dress.
A very fabric hungry pattern but if your mind and purse can handle it, this would make an absolutely stunning showstopper of a 70s-inspired gown.
We have some fabrics here at Hey Sew Sister which would be perfect for this challenge. Some we had sourced even before the idea of #SewSeventies had been conceived so it was clearly a style/trend that we were subconsciously on board with! Here are some cotton jerseys, double gauzes and cottons which would be perfect if you need some inspiration. As with all of the fabric we stock these are high quality natural fibre and most with OEKO-TEX and GOTS certification. We want the fabric to last so that your homemade 70s inspired garments will keep going strong, especially for when 70s style is inevitably in fashion again!
I hope you enjoy your summer and if you do have time to participate, please remember to use the hashtag #SewSeventies in your instagram posts so that we can see what you have been up to and take inspiration from your wonderful makes. Remember the challenge is running over June, July and August so there is no rush and no pressure! Keep your eyes peeled on @heysewgeorgie and @blossomsandwich for information on prizes and prompts.
Happy Sewing!
Georgie xxx
