The Historical Sew Fortnightly

I just thought I'd talk about this challenge a bit, it's being run by The Dreamstress
The first two challenges are now complete, but there will be one challenge each fortnight for the rest of the year; we don't know what all of them are yet, just the first 8 have been listed and 2 of them are now complete.

• #0 (the bonus challenge): Starting Simple - due 31 December NZT.  Finish a project, make a very simple garment, or something you have made before.
• #1: Bi/Tri/Quadri/Quin/Sex/Septi/Octo/Nona/Centennial – due 14 Jan.  Sew something from __13, whether it be 1913, 1613, or 13BC
• #2: UFO - due Jan 28.  Let’s get something off our UFO pile! Use this opportunity to finish off something that’s never quite gotten done, or stalled halfway through.
• #3: Under it all – due Feb 11.  Every great historical outfit starts with the right undergarments, and, just in time for Valentines day, here’s you’re excuse to make them. Chemises, corsets, corded petticoats, drawers, garters, stockings…if it goes under your garments, it qualifies.
• #4: Embellish –  due Feb 25.  Decorations make the historical garment glorious. Whether you use embroidery, trim, pleating, lace, buttons, bows, applique, quilting, jewels, fringe, or any other form of embellishment, this challenge is all about decorative detail.
• #5: Peasants & Pioneers – due March 11. As wonderful as making pretty, pretty princess dresses is, the vast majority of people have always been poor commoners, whether they were peasants working the land, servants in big houses, or (later), pioneers carving their own space in new lands. This fortnight let’s make something that celebrates the common man.
• #6: Stripes - due March 25. The stripe is one of the oldest patterns, appearing in the earliest textile fragments and visual records of garments, and its never gone out of style since. Celebrate stripes with a striped garment. Will you go for grand baroque stripes, pastel rococo stripes, severe neoclassical stripes, elaborately pleated and bustled Victorian stripes, or something else entirely?
• #7: Accessorize – due April 9.  Accessories add polish to your outfits, helping to create the perfect historical look. This week is all about bringing an outfit together. Trim a bonnet, paint a fan, crochet an evening bag, sew a shawl, or dye and decorate a pair of shoes to create the perfect period accessory for yourself.
• #8: By the Sea – due April 22.  The sea has inspired and influenced fashion for millennia. This challenge is all about nautical fashions, whether you make something to wear on the sea, by the sea, or in the sea (or lake or river).
• #9: Flora and Fauna – due May 6.  Textiles and the natural world are inextricably linked.  Until very recently, all textiles were made from flora (linen, raime, hemp) or fauna (wool, silk, fur), and dyed with flora and fauna.  Flora and fauna also influenced the decoration of textiles, from Elizabethan floral embroidery, to Regency beetle-wing dresses, to Edwardian bird-trimmed hats.  Celebrate the natural world (hopefully without killing any birds) with a flora and/or fauna inspired garment.

For me I do have a plan for most of the challenges.

0:  I made the very simple half-slip which I'm planning on wearing under my item for #1
1:  I made the 1913 wool skirt which I'm very pleased with, still have to press it and today would be a good day as it's not so warm.
2:  I don't have a UFO so instead I'm working on a project that while related doesn't yet have a number.   I'm enlarging a pattern for my 1910s era corset; I couldn't get it to print properly so am having to do it by hand.   I have no 1" gridded paper so have had to rule that up too, I may need the full fortnight!
3:  At this point I'm going to be making a pair of drawers or a chemise to wear with the corset.   I'd make the corset but that's going to take me a while as I need to make a dummy version first to see if it'll fit me right.
4:  I'll be embellishing either item #0 or item #3
5:  Well, so far anything I've made could be used by someone of middle class or even a servant on her day off.   I'll probably make a top to go with my skirt.   I'm thinking something similar to what Anna on Downton Abbey wears to London.
6:   Stripes, this is a little harder, I don't really have a lot of striped fabric, but I believe I have some blue and white striped cotton shirting, maybe another top?  ETA: I found some white and turquoise striped cotton which is very light, it definitely wants to be a 1913 top.
7:  I think I might have to knit something, a shawl perhaps or maybe a hat.   We'll wait and see.
ETA:  I've since found a blog post from Truly Myrtle that will fit the bill perfectly a fur wrap.  I'll be using either the astrakhan I've got (fake) or some good quality fake fur.
8:  I'd love to make a bathing costume from the 1910's, they were usually made from wool and to be honest don't appear to be designed to actually go into the water at all.   I'll update this closer to the time when I've made a decision.
9:  Most of my fabrics are natural fibres, I'll have to think on this one and make a decision later.

I'm hoping that some of the challenges in the future will fit in with my corset and also a jacket to go with the skirt and tops.    I guess we'll have to wait and see.   I don't know if I'll get every single one done as I still have knitting and quilting to do, but I'll have a good try.  I'm now halfway through the CPH front panels (well, halfway through the bit between ribbing and armhole).