I’ve been so busy with Christmas orders at Dotty Owl but I had to take a little time aside to make a 1970s outfit – required for a Christmas Show!
It needed to be authentic so I raided my Mother-in-Law’s fabric trunk and some actual 1970s fabric jumped out at me! This was perfect for making the jumper and the reverse of the fabric was great for the neckline and cuffs/hemband.
I took the pattern from an existing jumper (from H&M) that I knew was a good fit and used my trusty overlocker to make the jumper in a couple of hours – phew! It fitted well.
For the trousers I took the style from a pair that I already had from New Look – they were a great fit but not flared. I traced them onto my aubergine suiting fabric and flared the legs. I did this with the help of Simplicity pattern 5993 (which I borrowed from my mum!) – the pattern was age 3 but, even so, it helped me with the shape that I needed to cut out. I used the pattern from the green trousers shown on the left here.
I liked the way the New Look trousers had elastic at the back but a flat waist band at the front. It meant they were comfortable, easy to put on in a hurry and yet still looked smart – so I used that idea for the waist. The hems were tricky (since the trousers were flared!) so I cut them close to the level I needed and did a small rolled hem.
I finished the look with some hair slides from the charity shop – I’m pretty convinced that they are authentic 1970s clips – but if not – then the next best thing!
I hope you like the finished result. I have never sewed tailored trousers before so I’m pretty pleased with how everything turned out 🙂
Dotty Owl 