All posts filed under: Historical Sew Fortnightly

The HSF/M Challenge #3: Stashbusting Favourites

Published by The Dreamstress

Update: as many of you may know, this post had a little hiccup, where I published it, and then a few hours later WP freaked out, and reverted to an earlier version, with my favourites from the blue challenge.  I’ve finally got it working again, so here (finally!) are my favourites for Stashbusting. As I expected, the HSF/M Challenge #3: Stashbusting was really popular.  After all we’ve all got stashes that are in desperate need of being used up!  So there were lots of amazing items: some with items  that had been in the stash for years, some with items that have only been in the stash for a few months. Because the challenge fell just after Art Deco Weekend, my sewing was focused on 1930s: I used up some almost-pique I’ve had for 8 years on a ’30s summer suit, and a length of red & white fabric I’d had for two years on a halter,  so I’m feeling pretty happy about my stash, even if my sewing wasn’t as exciting as some of …

The Anzac Day Wearing History 1916 skirt

Published by The Dreamstress

April 25, Anzac Day, honouring anyone who has served in New Zealand’s armed forces, is probably  New Zealand’s most widely commemorated holiday. Waitangi  Day is just awkward and slightly anger or guilt inducing. Almost everyone does something for Christmas, but New Zealand is a mainly secular nation, and few people really celebrate or commemorate it.  Boxing Day is an excuse for sales, Guy Fawkes an excuse for fireworks, and New Years an excuse to get drunk (or set off fireworks – hopefully not both!). Easter is just a really awesomely long weekend – with the benefit or drawback of closed shops, depending on your views. But Anzac Day is marked by almost everyone I know, regardless of their religion, politics, ethnicity, or age.  Every news presenter, shop assistant, and person on the street wears a poppy, and almost everyone I know has, at least once, gotten up to go to the dawn service, if they don’t make an annual event of it.  Sporting events in New Zealand and Australia have moments of silence before the …

Working on the Wearing History 1916 Suit

Published by The Dreamstress

Over the last couple of weeks I’ve been plugging away on the Wearing History 1916 Suit.  It’s going pretty slowly, because I’ve got a lot else on, but progress is being made. For one thing, the skirt is done! Actually, it’s been done for over a week, but I’ve been too busy/sick to blog about it, and haven’t managed to wear it or take proper photos yet. If you are making the full suit, the Wearing History pattern prints out at a whopping 100 A4 pages of pattern pieces – plus instructions. Worth it though: look how fabulous it is! For my fabric, I polled people on The Dreamstress FB page on fabric choices, and settled on a lightweight worsted wool in black with charcoal stripes (the other options were a black & white rayon check and a brown linen). Then I settled down to tape pages together.  And tape.  And tape. I rather like taping print-at-home patterns.  It’s quite meditative, and you get into a rhythm.  Here is how I do it, if you …