IPM 2018: The Contests

Welcome back! Today we’re announcing the four contest themes and the general rules of Indie Pattern Month 2018. If you’ve participated before, you’ll be pretty familiar with these, but we recommend that you skim through to brush up on all the little details! If you are new to IPM – we’re so glad you’re joining us this year! – and here’s the run-down:

How does it all work?

Each contest runs over the course of one week during October. 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.

Your post must follow the General and Contest Specific Rules set out below.

At the end of the week for each contest, the judges will choose entries to go into the final. The number of finalists will depend on the number of entries. Finalists will be chosen based on four key factors:

• Garment quality
• Creativity
• Blog post quality
• Photography

The finalists will be posted on The Monthly Stitch four days after each contest closes. The final winners will be chosen through a community vote.

Voting will begin for each category once the finalists are announced. Voting is open for three days and you can vote for up to four entries per contest.

There are multiple prizes per contest (six or more!) so there are lots of chances to take away some fabulous indie prizes. These include patterns (of course), vouchers (for more patterns), fabric (to sew your patterns) and more!

Submit any questions regarding the rules in the comments of this post or by emailing themonthlystitch[at]gmail.com

Okay, let’s get serious!

General Rules:

• Any indie pattern brand is eligible – Need an idea of what counts? Check out our own amazing resource page of Indie Pattern Designers. Do you want to use a pattern brand that isn’t listed but you think counts? Use the contact form at the bottom of that page and we’ll check it out.
• Patterns may be PDF or envelope patterns and must be available for purchase and/or download by the general public. Free and out-of-print patterns by an indie designer are eligible.
• Indie designer patterns available through the large “Big 4” brands are not eligible, for example, Simplicity.
• Magazine or book patterns are not permitted unless the specific pattern is also available for purchase as a separate pattern in its entirety (i.e. pattern + instructions).
• Unreleased patterns sewn for pattern testing are not eligible.
• You can enter each challenge as many times as you like as long as each entry follows these rules.
• Items must be sewn specifically for Indie Pattern Month 2018. No earlier makes may be submitted. Items must not have been blogged about, either on TMS or on another blog, prior to the week the contest they are being entered into is running.
• Each make can be entered into only one category.
  • Exception: A previously entered item from week 1 or week 3 IPM 2018 may be re-entered into the week 4 contest. A second garment must be made to complete the entry. This additional item must be made specifically for IPM 2018 (no earlier makes to be submitted).
• Each entry post must go up on the TMS blog during the week for that category and must be correctly categorized and follow ALL the posting rules. You might find it useful to read Kat’s post about Creating a Great Monthly Stitch Post and How to insert images using URL codes (just a reminder –  we ask that you only upload one image for your post as the “feature image“ and all other images in your post should be inserted using the image URL code from a photo sharing site such as Photobucket, Pinterest, Flickr, Picasa, etc.)
• Posts that do not meet these rules will not be eligible. Your post will be placed in the ‘drafts’ folder and you will receive an email. You may edit and repost within the competition time frames to re-enter the competition.
• The judges (your TMS Editors) will choose finalists for each contest. The number of finalists will depend on the number of entries. The finalists will be chosen based on the following:
  • Garment quality
  • Creativity
  • Blog post quality
  • Photography
• The finalists for each category will be posted on The Monthly Stitch four days after each contest closes.
• Winners will be chosen from the finalists through community vote. Voting will begin for each category when the finalists are announced. Each person can vote for up to four entries with their vote. Voting is open for three days.
• Submit any questions regarding the rules in the comments of this post or to themonthlystitch[at]gmail.com

Want to join in with Indie Pattern Month but not enter any of the contests?

The general challenge for the month is “Indie Patterns” so feel free to sew along with us even if your pattern doesn’t fit into any of the contest categories. Simply categorize your post “Indie Pattern Month 2018” without selecting any of the weekly sub-categories.

And here they are — The Contests!

Week 1: Dresses

The long-time favorite is back again, starting us off strong for IPM 2018!

Dresses Contest Specific Rules:

• Competition runs from October 1st (00:00 UTC) until October 7th (24:00 UTC)
• Must be a dress pattern

Week 2: Anything But Clothes

We’re stepping a little outside the box on this one – accessories, home decor… if you wouldn’t typically wear it on your body, it’s fair game!

Anything But Clothes Contest Specific Rules:

• Competition runs from October 8th (00:00 UTC) until October 14th (24:00 UTC)
• Must be anything BUT a garment pattern. For the purpose of this contest, “clothes” include tops, bottoms, undergarments, outerwear, and anything else that you would wear on your body (note: that does not include “wearing” a purse, etc. – accessories that you wear in addition to your clothes, such as shoes and hats are still fair game) 🙂

Week 3: Around The World

For this one, we are celebrating the fact that our collective members and the indie designers we love are from all corners of the globe!

Around The World Contest Specific Rules:

• Competition runs from October 15th (00:00 UTC) until October 21st (24:00 UTC)
• Must be a pattern from a designer based out of a country other than your own
• Within your Around The World contest post, you MUST include what country you are from, and what country the pattern you have selected is from

Week 4: One Pattern, Two Ways

Another oldie-but-goodie… it’s always so much fun to see how one person can interpret the same design in different ways!

One Pattern, Two Ways Contest Specific Rules:

• Competition runs from October 22nd (00:00 UTC) until October 31st (24:00 UTC)
• Only open to The Monthly Stitch contributors who meet the following:
  • Have posted on TMS before October 1st 2018
  • Have posted something that wasn’t for any previous Indie Pattern Month
• Make two garments using the same pattern. You may make the same view twice or two different views/options of the same pattern.
• Both makes must be new and sewn specifically for Indie Pattern Month 2018. A previously entered item from week 1 or week 3 may be re-entered into the week 4 contest. A second garment must be made to complete the entry.

Here’s your handy dandy calendar to keep track of the month:

And once again let’s take a moment to thank our wonderful sponsors!

                              

And there you have it! Time to start planning and putting together your patterns and fabric! Make sure to check out the dedicated Indie Pattern Month 2018 page for all of this information and more which we will be updating throughout the month. We’ll remind you at the beginning of each week what the contest is for that week, along with announcing the sponsors and prizes for that contest!

Which week(s) are you most excited about this year? Any patterns you have in mind?

#TheMonthlyStitch

#TMSindiepatternmonth

#TMSIPM2018