Back in the Day....

I'm going through my last barrel of fabric stash. Oh...what a trip down Memory Lane. I found the little white corduroy coat that was my dad's when he was a baby. A pink crocheted sweater my mother-in-law made for her own daughter. To this day, I don't know why she gave it to me. It was too little for my daughter at the time. My mom's white eyelet wedding dress - a simple summer dress that she bought especially to get married in. Geesh, she was tiny around! My prom dress and my wedding dress, which I need to take to the cleaners in spite of it being in a "protected bag". Fabric remnants from so many projects.

So I thought I would share a few highlights with you and end up with a giveaway.

I love, love, love this lace! It was on a full length black slip that I picked up at a garage sale or something...for the lace. I've kept it all these years, unwilling to cut the lace from the fabric. It just seemed a shame if someone could wear it, but you know what? Who wears slips these days? Not a whole lot of people. So off it came! There are 60" of lace. I will make something for myself with it.

This soft blue fabric print is the kind of fabric used in granny dresses and tops of the 70's. Really - it wasn't all tie-dye. This was my favorite style back then. I really didn't like much else. This came from a top, I think. It could have been a dress, now that I think about it. I think it was my sister's and I sort of remember seeing photos of her in it. It was a dress, yes. SHORT - as in mini-dress. LOL!

Like this one and yes, she did wear them that short! This is a modern version. I was quite disappointed in my Internet search for 70's granny dresses. Today's interpretations are not the way it was then. Even the tie-dye was different.

I did find this vintage pattern image on Sewing Happy Place, which is closer to what you saw. Most were empire-waisted, with lace and ribbons and ruffles. Depending on the season, the neck could be scooped or square. The sleeves were usually full, whether short or long.

One thing I'm not showing is the purple velvet flare pants. They weren't mine - I bought them at a garage sale for the fabric but it's funny to look at them and see the flare because the copycat "bell bottoms" and "flare" pants today are not like that. These are WIDE. I really hated flared pants but it got to a point where you could not buy anything else. I'm short. They're very unflattering to short people, making them even shorter. The pants were always too long. Ever try to re-hem a pair of pants with shaped legs? It's a bitch. By the time I got the hang of it, they were going out of style.

Remember Magnum P.I.? This was a popular fabric in the 80's. I didn't realize he was the one who made it popular until I watched some DVD's from the series awhile back. So then I googled him and the shirt and found out it really was a result of him wearing shirts like that on the show. I made shirts for my boys back then. Remember those pants the rappers wore? HUGE, like balloons! Yeah, I made one pair for one son. The prints were wild then too and I have a lot of them. I made them summer shirts and shorts quite a bit.

I have no idea how I got this fabric but it is true GARISH 70's. It's a light fabric, maybe nylon or a nylon/polyester blend. There are 2 yards, 44" wide. As much as I dislike it, I know there is someone out there who LOVES IT!

SO - I'm giving it away to the first commenter who says they want it. You can comment and not say you want it but if you want it, you better say so and hurry!