Is there a special place in your heart for the fashions of your early childhood? Do you hark after a pair of loon pants, a granny square waistcoat, a ra-ra skirt? I have a theory you see. It’s this. If you were too young to sport the adult fashions of the time they will forever hold for you a fascination, an air of the unobtainable, a lingering desire to know what you would have looked like had you been older.
Alls I’m really trying to explain with this theory is why I’m increasing drawn to patterns like this:
Which I chose to bring to life in a violent orange batik quilting weight cotton that I found in a remnants box.
The piece was only 65 x 110 cms so we had to be sleeve free:
And if the potential cost puts you off sewing anything vaguely retro here’s a break down:
Material £3.18
Buttons and binding £2.12
Pattern (Ebay) £2.98
Total = £8.28
Value = That’s up to you! I’m pretty pleased with myself and I think that 70s Penny would have approved too.
Postscript:
Bias binding a hem, my way:
Hope it makes more sense than my previous lengthy comment, Sew Exhausted 😉
pennylibrarian 
What a great colour! Your childhood dreams and mine were different though. There’s a place in my heart for a ballgown in navy silk taffeta with portrait neckline and, the clincher – shocking pink net petticoats holding the full skirt. This hung in my mother’s wardrobe. Too bad 50s fashions got their re-run when I was too old to join in.
My goodness that sounds like a heart-stopping gown – the sort of thing that I might have sneakily tried on whilst my mother was out!
A very cute top 🙂
I agree with your theory for all decades but the eighties. Those were so horrendous that we eighties-kids can feel is denialdenialdenial. One of the TAs in my department wears all eighties sh*t all the time (including the hideous ‘jaunty’ sideways oversize baseball cap) and cute as he is, the urge to beat him a blunt object for his fashion sins, never really goes away.. Apologies for the off topic vent but that’s a lovely colour on you!
The oh-so-tricky eighties… I cannot yet re-visit those fashions as I was a teenager for most of that decade and those looks are fused in my mind with a whole host of hormone-fuelled activities. All to a sound track of Duran Duran and later (and waay cooler) The Wonder Stuff.
Luckily, where I am, no staff have felt the urge to go 80s but I have seen students heading that way. I have to resist the urge to talk to them earnestly about the dangers of Thatcherism.
Yes. Also the dangers of mixing mini-check (plaid?) and mini-flowered print. Ye gwads save us all. If leg warmers come back we’re all finished.XD On a serious note though, it’s good that you’ve got +ve memories of those times..
Oh man, leg warmers, their return to teenage fashion will mark ‘the end of days’.