Historical Sew Monthly 2016 Planning

I wasn't exactly successful at completing all of the challenges last year, but I'm hoping to do better this year!
The challenges are:

January –  Procrastination – finish a garment you have been putting off finishing (a UFO or PHD) or make something you have been avoiding starting.

I plan on finishing a mid-19th century apron I started a while back!

February – Tucks & Pleating – make a garment that features tucks and pleating for the shape or decoration 

Maybe a chemisette with some pretty tucks. Or a petticoat; petticoats are always a good idea.

March – Protection – make something to protect yourself (from weather or injury) or your clothes (from soiling etc.)

I'm thinking an earlyish 19th cent. chemise (which protects your outer garments from sweat and other gross things)

April – Gender-Bender – make an item for the opposite gender, or make an item with elements inspired by the fashions of the opposite gender

Maybe a shirt for Dylan. I've been wanting to make him one but haven't gotten around to it.

May – Holes – sometimes the spaces between stuff are what makes a garment special.  Make a garment that is about holes, whether it is lace, slashing, eyelets, etc.

Corded stays. I've been wanting to make them forever, and I think I should be recovered and "settled" enough to get a good fit in the bust. (holes would be the eyelets for lacing)

June – Travel – make a garment for travelling, or inspired by travel.

I have no idea, I'll have to research a bit! Maybe a bonnet veil.

July – Monochrome – make a garment in black, white, or any shade of grey in between.

Ooh I don't know!

August – Pattern – make something in pattern, the bolder and wilder the better.

My green 1830s dress! I have sleeves and a skirt cut out and sewn. The pattern is rather bold and wild!

September – Historicism – Make a historical garment that was itself inspired by the fashions of another historical period.

Maybe something regency. Regency drew lots of inspiration from classical greece/rome.

October – Heroes – Make a garment inspired by your historical hero, or your historical costuming hero.

Who knows!

November – Red – Make something in any shade of red.

A dress out of my beautiful pink cotton print, maybe. I think pink counts as a shade of red!

December – Special Occasion: make something for a special event or a specific occasion, or that would have been worn to special event of specific occasion historically

I shall have to find a special occasion for which to make something!

HSM: Sewing Secrets

I've been taking a bit of a hiatus from HSM, not on purpose, but life happened. Part of my halloween costume somewhat went along with October's challenge, though! I hope to get back in the groove soon.

Excuse the awkward face and the weird bodice lacing

The secret!

The Facts:

The Challenge: Sewing Secrets
Fabric: Poly (probably) damask, cotton duck for interlining, tan cotton for lining, checked cotton for secret armhole facing, poly satin for piping
Pattern: My own!
Year: Vaguely 16th/18th century
Notions: Heavy duty cable ties for boning, cotton yarn for piping, beading lace, poly satin ribbon
How historically accurate is it? Not very. The bodice is a very stylized version of stays
Hours to complete: lots and lots
First worn: Halloween!
Total cost: I think everything was in the stash, so none at this time, but I'd guess $15-$20

HSM: June: Out of Your Comfort Zone

Finished, except for the hem, which was done after the picture was taken.

I made a 1940s dress for my best friend Abigail! It was definitely a challenge for me and out of my comfort zone because I'd never done "vintage" sewing, but I really enjoyed making it! I'll try to get a picture of her wearing it and edit it in this post.

Challenge: June- Out of Your Comfort Zone
Fabric: 2 or 3 yards of blue and white gingham, probably a poly/cotton blend (originally bought for a Dorothy Gale costume that never happened).
Pattern: Sensibility 1940s "Swing" Dress
Year: The pattern says 1942!
Notions: Cotton thread, snaps, blue ricrac
How historically accurate is it? I'd say mostly. Good pattern, but I'm not sure about the fabric and the ricrac.
Hours to complete: I have no idea. Not that long though.
First worn: Not yet!
Total Cost: About $10 for the pattern, maybe $1-$2 for the amount of snaps I used, and the fabric, ricrac, and thread were in my stash. Total cost was about $20-$25, including stash materials.

HSM May: Practicality: Pieced Linen Apron

I graduated at the end of April (yay!), so I've finally had time to sew again. I've been working on some more accurate 1830s stays (with embroidery, because I can't just do something simple). I'll hopefully finish them and post about them soon! I wasn't going to do the HSM challenge this month, but I changed my mind when I remembered that I'd picked up some linen at Goodwill a while back. I didn't have enough time to make a full ensemble, so I decided I could make an apron after reading through The Workwoman's Guide (such a valuable resource!). 

The apron is 40" wide by about 33" long, and the waistband/tie is about a nail (2 1/4") wide. This is very close to the dimensions in The Workwoman's Guide, accounting for the fabric I had. The body is made of 5 pieces, and the waistband is made of 3 pieces, because my linen was in kind of weirdly shaped pieces when I bought it.

This picture doesn't really display the apron properly, but I didn't think it would look right on my silk dress.

You can see the piecing more clearly here.

My small prick stitches in the hem. Its rather hard taking a picture of white-on-white detail, especially with just a crappy iPhone. 

The Challenge: Practicality 

Fabric: About 1.5 yards of off-white linen

Pattern: None, I used the diagrams and instructions in The Workwoman's Guide

Year: I was shooting for 1830s, but it could probably work for multiple periods

Notions: Cotton thread

How historically accurate is it?  I'd say about 90%. The fabric is close, and it was entirely hand sewn with period techniques, though it should probably have been sewn with linen thread. 

Hours to complete: Probably 5-7? I'm rubbish at keeping track of time.

First worn: Just around the house, to show my family.

Total cost: Probably $1-$2. I don't remember how much I paid for the linen, but it wasn't much. The thread was already in my stash, but I probably only used less than $0.50 worth.

(Very Belated) HSM January: Foundations: 1830s Petticoat

I promise I did finish this challenge before it was due, but my computer decided to stop charging. I've finally gotten a new one (which is pink and very cute!), so I'm writing up my post now.

Over my corded petticoat and one other petticoat.

The Challenge: Foundations

Fabric: 4 yards of white cotton from stash, about $3.50/yard originally

Pattern: none

Year: I'm aiming for 1830-ish, but I think it's plausible for 1830-1860

Notions: White cotton thread  and white button from stash

How historically accurate is it?: For 1830, I'd say about 85%. The materials are perfectly plausible, and it's handsewn except for the hem.

Hours to complete: Probably 8-10. I did a lot of the handsewing in the car, so I'm not exactly sure. It also took a while to iron the hem.

First worn: Not yet, except for a prance around the house.

Total cost: About $15, although everything was from my stash