All posts filed under: Historical Sew Fortnightly

HSM ’15 Challenge #1: Foundations

I usually try to write Historical Sew Fortnightly/Monthly inspiration posts wells in advance of the challenge, but I’m running quite late this year, so am writing this post only a few days before the challenge is over. Challenge #1 for the Historical Sew Monthly 2015 was Foundations. I deliberately left the challenge quite vague: “make something that is the foundation of an outfit (however you interpret that)” So what is a foundation? According to dictionary.com: [foun-dey-shuh n] noun 1. the basis or groundwork of anything: Lots of scope there! Interestingly, being able to write this post most of the way through the challenge, with a whole folder full of entries on FB, it turns out that most people have chosen a much more specific meaning: foundation garment noun 1. an undergarment, as a girdle or corset, worn by women to support or give shape to the contours of the body. Only you’ve extended that meaning to include any undergarment. Fascinating. One HSM-er mentioned that she thought foundations were anything that created structure – rather like …

The HSF ’14: Favourites for Challenges # 17-20

Published by The Dreamstress

When I started this post, there were just four challenges left to go in the HSF 2014. And then, at some point in writing the post, those challenges and all of life’s other challenges caught up with me, and I never finished it! So, a bit late, but no less appreciated, here are some of the fantastic creations from challenges #17-20 that inspired me. I picked items that were well made, interesting to look at and think about, pushed the boundaries of the makers knowledge and experience, and that I thought best represent the spirit of the Historical Sew Fortnightly; the quest to explore history, raise our skill levels and standard, stretch ourselves (or sometimes just get something done, rather than just procrastinating); and the spirit of the individual challenge. It’s really, really hard to pick, because there are always so many amazing things (even as we experience the inevitable drop-off in submissions towards the end of the year). For every challenge I’ve tried to showcase a range of historical periods, ways of approaching a …

Modern historical kimono wrappers

Published by The Dreamstress

I know I already have two submissions for the Historical Sew Fortnightly ‘Modern History’ challenge, but I’m quite excited about showing you two more items, because they are my only HSF sewing collaboration for 2014, and they are also a far more interesting take on interpreting historical fashions for modern wear in any case. These are Lynne’s modern historical kimono wrappers: Lynne took the pattern from an original Japanese yukata, but altered it to fit her figure and lifestyle: flaring the body panels for extra width, and adding underarm and shoulder reinforcements. She did all the unpicking of curtain panels, fabric prepping, pattern drafting and cutting of the pieces (i.e. the hard part, where you have to think and probably end up, if not swearing a lot, at least muttering dire imprecation), and I sewed up the kimono on a week-long visit just before Christmas, sitting at a sewing table in her bedroom, watching the birds outside and kittens on the computer and cthunk, cthunk, cthunking along on her lovely Bernina. Lynne is an extremely …