Do you have a passion for vintage textiles but have yet to work them into your wardrobe? Are you unsure of how to deal with the limited yardage of thrifted textiles? Marcia Riddington and Lisa Hughes, along with the rest of their collective, ‘Curtains for Couture’, share a desire to demystify working with existing textiles and to encourage people to wear what they really want. In this episode, Lisa and Marcia share their tips on sourcing, sewing and styling, so you too can wear ‘curtain couture’ with confidence and joy.

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Follow Marcia Riddington on Instagram (@marcialoisriddington). 

Follow Lisa Hughes on Instagram (@vintage_dahling). 

Along with Jill, Sorrel, Claire and Nicky, they form the Curtains to Couture collective that can be followed on Instagram also (@curtainstocouture). Four members of the crew:

You can use their hashtag #curtainstocouture to share your own upcycled curtain creations!

The Sussex-based fabric and pattern company, Merchant & Mills, started the #lessthanametre hashtag, in part to showcase their range of ‘Less than a Metre’ patterns.   

Recommended patterns:

• The Pilvi Coat pattern from the book ‘Lotta Jansdotter Everyday Patterns’ by Lotta Jansdotter. 

(image source: The Trapeze Dress pattern by Merchant & Mills)

Marcia recommends following mending expert Alexandra Brinck (@alexandrabrinck)

A detail from Marcia’s favourite pair of mended jeans:

The jeans are worn here with the jacket Marcia made from a thrifted needlecord tunic:

Marcia’s Christmas frock is a great example of how you can incorporate smaller pieces of fabric into a larger garment by combining them with other fabrics: