::HSF 14.3:: pink - eighteenth century strapless stays

I used the JP Ryan strapless stays pattern and modified it to close in the front. It is fully boned with cane. No pictures with it on because I'm not thrilled with it. The silhouette is good, but the caning and seams are very bulky. I can't bear to work on it anymore, but will need to take out some of the cane near the seams and debulk the seams by removing the fold of the inner layers so that it is half the thickness. Maybe in a month or two! Crazy cat fabric is calling my name and wants to be made into a skirt. 

Total cost: linen $5, silk twist $2 plus exorbitant shipping, $3 cotton twill inner layers, white linen in stash, cane in stash, pattern given to me by Jenni, cotton satin ribbon $8 for a grand total of $18.

::HSF 14.2:: innovation

the challenge: to take iPhone photos at a ball

fabric: existing gloves
pattern: n/a
year: almost any
notions: conductive thread
how historically accurate is it? Not at all! But not wearing gloves to a ball would be much less accurate.
hours to complete: 10 minutes
first worn: the Dolley Madison Ball (photo on the left is a selfie)

total cost: $5

::HSF '14.1:: make do and mend

the challenge: Anyone who has ever been to a Regency-era event with me anytime since the Baltimore CostumeCon knows that my bodiced petticoat was held together by one lone button for years before it became the task of a large safety pin (or two linked together, depending on my weight). Well, I found all 4 buttons and sewed them back on, and made a little filler piece to accommodate the current size of my back. 

fabric: cotton
pattern: none
year: early 1800s
notions: 8 buttons (4 of which I already had)
how historically accurate is it? my new addition is machine sewn (including buttonholes). the rest of the petticoat was put together by machine with all visible stitching and buttonholes done by hand.
hours to complete: once I discovered that there was not one but two compartments in my new-ish Pfaff and that the second compartment contained an automatic buttonhole foot this project took me about 25 minutes. it did take me about six months to find aforementioned compartment, though.
first worn: for this photoshoot 
total cost: $1 (for mending/buttons)

::HSF2014:: so this is happening

I did not finish the last 3 challenges of HSF 2013, and neglected to post many of the challenges I did complete. We'll see how 2014 goes.