Indie Pattern Month 2015 – the contests!

Oh yes, it’s time for the third annual Indie Pattern Month!

And just like last year, we’re running a series of four sewing contests for it, to encourage you all to get sewing indie and show us your creations.

Since here at The Monthly Stitch we’re all about giving you plenty of time to plan and prepare what you’re going to make for the following month’s challenge, we thought it only fair to tell you all about the sewing contests a month ahead of time as well. So, now’s the time to find out what they’re all about!

(If sewing contests aren’t your thing, don’t worry – there will be the usual challenge theme (in this case – sew something using an indie pattern!) running for the whole month as well. The sewing contests are just something a little bit extra for anyone who wants to take part in them!)

There are going to be four sewing contests during Indie Pattern Month – one each week. Each one has a theme, sponsors, and some amazing prizes. Here’s where you’ll find the details of the themes, the contest rules, and the sponsors. (We’re not telling you about the prizes just yet though – we’ve got to keep something secret until later in the month, now don’t we?! 😉 ) Excited? We are! Read on to find out more….

 

Contest one, June 1-7

Theme: Dresses

We’re starting with a nice, easy one. Just make a dress, using an indie pattern! Simple, right? 😉

Sponsors:

Contest two, June 8-14

Theme: Separates

Week two is all about separates! Make two separates (i.e. things that aren’t dresses) that go together, using indie patterns. (A top and skirt, maybe? Tshirt and jeans? Cardigan and a blouse?) They don’t need to make up a complete outfit, as long as they’re two garments that can be worn together.

Sponsors:

 

Contest three, June 15-21

Theme: New To Me

For this one, make a garment using an indie company that you’ve never used before. (This also includes muslins and UFOs – if you’ve sewn with the company before at all, even if you didn’t finish the garment you were making, it doesn’t count. Go on, choose another one to try instead!)

Sponsors:

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Contest four, June 22-28

Theme: One Pattern Two Takes/strong>

And to round out the month of sewing contests, here’s one that a lot of you voted for.Take one indie pattern and make it twice! (How will you do it? Will you make a diferent view of the pattern each time? The same view? Or perhaps alter the pattern into something else? So many options!)

We’re going to let you cheat a little with this one, if you like. One of the garments you make for it can have been entered in one of the other three Indie Pattern Month 2015 contests. (You still have to make the second garment especially for this contest, though.)

There’s something extra special about this last contest – last year, a lot of you said you would like a contest only for Monthly Stitch contributors. Well, this one’s for you! To enter the One Pattern Two Takes contest, you need to have posted on The Monthly Stitch before 1 June 2015, as part of a monthly challenge that wasn’t to do with a previous Indie Pattern Month. (Been thinking about joining in but haven’t gotten around to it yet? It’s not too late! You have until the end of May to write a post. Why not join in on this month’s theme, or post a late entry for Put A Bird On It month?)

Sponsors:

How will it all work?

Each contest runs over the course of a week during June. During that week, anyone who wants to enter can by writing a post about their entry on The Monthly Stitch and selecting the contest category for that week.

At the end of the week for each contest, the four judges will choose 15 entries to go into the final. Finalists will be chosen based on four key factors – garment quality, creativity, blog post quality, and photography.

The 15 finalists will be posted on the Monthly Stitch three days after the contest closes. The winners for the contest will then be chosen based on community vote.

We like to have as many winners as possible, and we know that you like it that way too! So there are multiple prizes in each category. So many pretty sewing goodies to be won, all donated by our amazing sponsors! Why not go and have a look at their websites to see what might be up for grabs if you won? (Just click on their logos above to have a look.) We’ll be letting you know what the prizes are in each category later this month.

The rules

Like any good contest, there are a few rules for these ones as well.

Firstly, we need your entry post to be of a good quality. The more photos and details you include, the more people will learn about what you’ve made, and the better chance you have of being a winner! Posts must include the following:

• A minimum of three photos (that have been inserted using URLs, not uploaded to the blog directly please – we’ve got a tutorial here for how to do that)
• A feature image (here’s a tutorial for how to add a feature image)
• The contest category selected (so that we know it’s a competition entry post!) We’ll tell you the categories at the start of each contest week so you know which one to use.
• Information about the pattern/s you used: the brand, the name/number of the pattern (you might also like to include a description, image, and link to the pattern page)
• What fabric and notions you used
• Any pattern alterations/design changes you made, and what (if any) you’d make next time
• How you found the instructions. Were they easy to follow?
• Why did you choose the pattern and fabric you used?

We’ll make a template for posts so you don’t have to remember all of this – it’ll come out nearer the start of June. (Also, since this is all the sort of information people are interested in anyway, feel free to use the template for any other Monthly Stitch posts you make! 🙂 )

All entries need to be made especially for the sewing contests. While you can start planning and making now, anything made before 1 May or blogged about before the sewing contest (either on The Monthly Stitch or another blog) can’t be entered. We’re looking for new creations – this is all about encouraging people to sew with indie patterns. 🙂

Any indie pattern for adult garments (menswear or womenswear) will count, from any indie label. If you’re unsure of what’s out there, here are three places where you can see a whole bunch of indie patterns. As you can see, there’s a few to choose from!

Anyone can enter any contest, with the exception of the One Pattern Two Takes contest. One Pattern Two Takes is only open to people who have posted on The Monthly Stitch prior to June 2015, for a challenge that was not Indie Pattern Month 2014.

And finally, your sewing contest entry must be blogged about on The Monthly Stitch during the week the contest is running. For example, if you’re entering the Dresses contest, you need to get your post up on The Monthly Stitch between 1 and 7 June. (Note: this means you need to be set up as a contributor so you can write posts. This is super easy to do – just fill out the form at the bottom of this page and we’ll get you a login.)

You can enter as many of the contests as you like, and enter as many times as you like. As long as each entry follows the rules and is a new garment/outfit, go on and submit it!

Here’s those contest time frames again for when you need to put your blog post up to enter:

• Week one: Dresses. June 1st (00:00 UTC) until June 7th (24:00 UTC)
• Week two: Separates. June 8th (00:00 UTC) until June 14th (24:00 UTC)
• Week three: New To Me. June 15th (00:00 UTC) until June 21st (24:00 UTC)
• Week four: One Pattern Two Takes. June 22nd (00:00 UTC) until June 28th (24:00 UTC)

Here’s something else to tempt you with

Keen to get involved? Not sure what to make? A few of our sponsors have kindly set up discount codes especially for Indie Pattern Month, and made them valid early enough that you can use them to get your indie sewing on. Yay!

Muse Patterns – 15% off with the code INDIE15. Valid until 10 June.
Sewaholic – 10% off any product with the code STITCHMONTHLY10. Valid until 30 June.
Lekala – 15% off with the code LekalaStyle15. Valid until the end of May.
Indiesew – 15% off any one dress patern (excluding Blank Slate Patterns) with the code MONTHLYSTITCH. Valid until the end of May.
Minerva Crafts – 10% off your order with the code IPM10. Valid until the end of June. (Note: you can only use this code once, so make sure you stock up!)
Dresses & Me – 15% off with the code indie15. Valid from 1 May to end of June. Plus if you use the code before the end of June 2015 you’ll go in the draw for a mystery pattern prize pack worth $100! (Note: Dresses & Me only ships to New Zealand addresses)

Time to sew!

So, are you excited? We are! 😀

Do you think you’ll enter any of the contests? Which one are you most excited about?