Christmas Charity

'Tis the season for giving, and this may make me sound shallow, but don't forget that buying things from charity shops still counts as charity!  I've inherited the Charity Shop Bug from my mum, and she got it from her mum, so when I went home for a visit this weekend my Ma and I hit every charity shop on Gosport High Street - and believe me, there are plenty - for a good old rummage, in the name of spending Quality Time together, procuring goodies, and doing goodly charitable acts in the run up to Christmas.

It was a hugely successful trip!  I pretty much doubled my wardrobe in one go: I got a dress and four skirts, but three of the skirts need taking up, so I'll give them their own post, including before-and-after photos, once they're fixed (of course, committing these plans to writing gives me an extra incentive to actually retrieve them form my Sewing Pile and fix them within a reasonable time frame).  So, in the meantime, I thought I'd share this little treasure with you, as it requires no fixing at all:

Fully metricated!  I got this book in the Rose Road Association shop for £2.  Although it was printed in 1978, this looks like it's actually going to be a really useful book, full of instructions on how to make your home dressmaking look more professional.  It's got advice on how to work with tricky fabrics, from sheer to corduroy, how to do all kinds of hems (properly!), how to line a coat or a dress...it's ace, what can I say?  Plus, it's full of amazing retro illustrations (do click the pictures to enlarge!).  Here's the introduction to sleeves:

"Working with pleats":

Of course, it also has some hilarious seventies patterns in the back (I'll spare you the frilly wedding dress and the three-piece suede jacket-skirt-and-jerkin combo), but there are still some useful ones in there.  Take a closer look at these trousers:

Hello, sailor!  Seriously, I love these!  I have a pair of dark green wide-leg 1930s-style trousers and they are my absolute favourites, but they don't have jaunty buttons on the hips...I'm picturing these in navy blue.  I think they're actually maternity trousers (yes, that skinny little thing is supposed to be pregnant - bear in mind, people couldn't afford to eat as much in the seventies) but surely removing the need for a "concealed elasticated front panel" will just make their construction that much easier?

Oh yes, on a seemingly-unrelated note, I forgot to tell you: I passed my driving test!  First attempt!  That's a new record in my family.  The reason I mention it now is that my goal for 2010 was to learn to drive and here we are, 10 months and over £1200 later (seriously), I have done it.  So, for 2011 I would like to invest my time and money into something infinitely more enjoyable, like learning to make my own clothes.  I have already mentioned here that I have found a local dressmaking class, which I plan to start in the new year, so I took the discovery of this most excellent book as a definite omen of good fortune for my new crafty venture.