Marcia Riddington has always loved sewing - and she shares her passion to almost 70,000 Instagram followers. The 72-year-old, who lives in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, set up her account about eight years ago to post content of her making her own clothes and reusing old fabric. Describing her following as "utter madness", Mrs Riddington is keen to share that sewing can be easy and helped people be sustainable.
"I love [my clothes] to have a story - I just think it's so much nicer than something brand new, straight out of a factory," she explained. "I just love the excitement of turning a flat piece of old fabric into a garment. "I enjoy fabric, I enjoy making clothes and I just have so much fun getting dressed in the morning.
"It's nice to wear bright things that you feel good in, happy in, and that are comfortable." Mrs Riddington, who also owns and runs the Smoking Monkey Antiques shop, in Bury St Edmunds, believed there was pressure on younger generations to keep up with fast moving fashion trends and influencers online. "It's sad for them because if you're trying to keep up with other people then you're always going to be disappointed," she said.
"It's such a terrible waste of someone's money and it's such a waste of resources as well." Mrs Riddington said she was encouraged by her daughter to set up her Instagram account. She regularly posts her latest bright and colourful creations and receives hundreds of reactions from followers.
"I just started doing it and I've got to .