The HSF/M: Favourites for Challenge #6: Out of Your Comfort Zone

We pick all of the challenges for the HSM in the hope that people will use them to push their boundaries: to sew better, to learn more, and to try new things, but the Out of Your Comfort Zone challenge was picked in the hope that everyone would take this to a whole new level, and for the most part, you really did. There were so many amazing things: people trying new periods, people making things that challenged them from a personal aesthetic level, and people trying things that really challenged their skills and patience. I was so proud and inspired!

My own entry for the OOYCZ challenge ended up being quite easy: I made cloth buttons for my medieval gown. I’d been intimidated by the buttons for years, and was afraid they would be really hard, but they turned out to be really fun, and really easy, which is a great lesson for out of your comfort zone: you don’t know if something will be hard until you try it.

For my favourites I select items that really represent the spirit of the challenge: the more something pushed your comfort zone, the more it impressed me. My favourites all demonstrate research, daring, and a willingness to really challenge yourself. We’re all starting from different levels, so a challenge isn’t always something that looks hard: it’s about something that pushed the maker personally.

There are always amazing things that I can’t show you (because almost all the submissions were AMAZING) I do recommend you check out the comments under the blog post and the photos in the FB album (yep, you do have to be a member to see it, yep, if you ask to be a member we’re going to ask you some questions, and yep, it might take us a few days to answer, but if you are really interested in the HSF, as a participant or active cheerleader, we’d LOVE to have you) to see the rest of the fabulous things that were made.

Without further ado, my favourites! Entries with photos link to FB, entries without link to the blog post of the maker.

Caitlin’s mid-18th c stays. These is the first garment she has ever sewed. Ever. Need I say more!
Urban Simple Life’s embroidered 1920s dress: She tackled a new period (and one that she wasn’t comfortable with as a look), adapted a pattern to do so, did a bunch of research on it, and the end result is gorgeous (plus, it’s one of three items she did for this challenge!)
Trumpets & Trimmings 1740s waistcoat: She tackled a new era, a bit of pattern alterations, total handsewing, and a few techniques that are totally new or terrify her, and the end result is great, so all in all, very impressive!
Cate’s 1720s-40s jacket: Janet Arnold is practically the patron saint of historical costuming post 1500, but her scaled patterns can be a bit daunting. Cate tackled scaling up an Arnold pattern for the first time, and the end result is beautiful:
Christina’s 1860s breakfast cap. Christina really challenged herself to thoroughly research this item, so that she understood both its construction, and implications as a garment, and to make it as close to period accurate as possible. It’s a challenge we should all aspire to! Just look how much it looks like the fashion plate: