There was a big drop-off in submissions for the HSM War & Peace challenge.  Either the novelty wore off for some people after the first three  challenges, the theme was too obscure, or it’s just a really busy time of year.  Still, the submissions there were were fabulous, and hopefully  people will regain their enthusiasm and we’ll see a surge in entries for future challenges. Not surprisingly, there were more entries tied to war’s influence on fashion than peace’s influence on fashion, but there was a fascinating spread of historical fashion from both ends of the spectrum.  While there weren’t as many entries, there were some of my favourite entries of anything made so far this year, simply because of the research and history and new things I discovered.  (and it’s become one of my favourite challenges personally because I finally had the excuse to make a dazzle swimsuit!  Cue major excitement!  Plus a 1940s dress and WWI era  skirt – super productive month for me!). In picking items to showcase I’ve chosen the items …

The theme for the 7th  Historical Sew Monthly challenge of 2015, due by the end of July, is Accessorise (or Accessorize, depending on what part of the world you’re in – either’s fine!). The final touch of the right accessory creates the perfect period  look.  For this challenge  you’ll bring an outfit together by creating an accessory to go with your historical wardrobe.  An accessory is any small non-garment piece carried or worn with an outfit: hats, shoes, gloves, bags, glasses, watches, chatelaines, spats, mitts, jewellery etc. To get you started, here are some tutorials for making period accessories from my blog and across the internet: From the bottom up you could: Make your own seamed stockings (with a free pattern)     For the far-more ambitious, Isis’ Wardrobe gives instructions on knitting your own 16th c Stockings   or, if you prefer sewing and an earlier period you can make your own sewn cloth medieval stockings following these directions at the Medieval Tailor If you are really feeling clever, Crimson Griffin has given a …

The June challenge for the Historical Sew Monthly 2015 is Out of Your Comfort Zone:  Create  a garment  from a time period you haven’t done before, or  that uses a new skill or technique that you’ve never tried before. Of all the challenges this year, it’s probably the one I’m most excited about, both as a sewer, and as an organiser.  (I know, I say I’m most excited about all of them, and I AM always super excited when they start coming up, but I’m definitely most excited about this one overall!) The first  impetus of the HSF/M was to give the motivation to sew, but it’s also always been intended to really push our sewing boundaries, and to encourage interactions. What better way to push our boundaries than with a challenge that is all about that?  And what better way to encourage collaborations and interactions than to make us try a new skill or time-period, which is inevitably going to involve asking the other members for advice, and looking at the research and creations …