Do you struggle to keep up with sewing challenges happening in the Instagram community? Fear not, as I put together a roundup of the challenges each month. You can get more info about each challenge and save your favourites in the Challenges section in Stash Hub. You can link up challenges to your sewing project plans so you don’t forget to enter. Let’s find out about the July 2024 sewing challenges on offer:
July 2024 Sewing Challenges
Scrunchie Swap
The Scrunchie Swap was set up by @sew_got_this to celebrate International Friendship Day. Participants are assigned a partner to make a scrunchie for, and both will exchange handmade scrunchies as gifts. The scrunchie exchange is open to UK participants only.
If you’re not based in the UK or have missed the sign up window, you can still get involved by checking out the lovely scrunchies on the #ScrunchieSwap hashtag on Instagram or make some of your own.
There will be a sewalong for this challenge hosted on the Virtual Sewing Room. Check here for tickets. I spoke to Jenny, founder of the Virtual Sewing Room, on a recent episode of Stash Chats and it was lovely to hear how the online socials bring the sewing community together.
Ankara Appreciation Week
Ankara Appreciation week is back 15th-20th July! Fill your feeds with the colour, structure and fabulousness of African wax print fabric.
This challenge is about celebration and inspiration, so feel free to share something you’ve made previously using Ankara fabric. Of course, if you’ve got some gorgeous wax prints in your stash, this challenge is the perfect opportunity to get some ideas and sew it up! Use tag #SewAnkaraFabric24 when posting your makes.
Follow @thatlenaking and @julietuzor_ for daily prompts and educational posts, so you can learn more about Ankara fabric whilst basking in the rainbow of colours.
London based sewists could join the EVENT – Picnic in the park on Saturday 20th July at Highbury Fields, North London. Showcase your fabulous African wax print makes and make new sewing friends.
Winter of Care and Repair
Challenge host @thepeoplesmending is running this slow mindful mending challenge again, this time aimed at southern hemisphere sewists. Winter is the perfect time to slow down and take care of your belongings – and yourself!
This individual challenge runs from the first day of winter through spring equinox in your hemisphere. You determine the level of mending that feels achievable to you. There are lots of different ideas for mending, including repairing garments, learning stain removal techniques, depilling sweaters and replacing worn shoelaces.
You’re welcome to share your goal and progress on social media using #WinterOfCareAndRepair2024 but this is not required.
Pattern Hackathon
Get experimental in the sewing room and use pattern hacking to make your own custom creations. A pattern hack is any aesthetic change made to a sewing pattern. This could be simple, such as removing sleeves or could involve more complex techniques such as rotating darts or adding volume.
To join in on Instagram, hack a pattern in any of the 4 prize categories: Tops & Blouses, Skirts, Trousers & Jumpsuits or Dresses. Share your sewing project to Instagram during July and tag host @unsewcial and #PatternHackathon24. There are lots of prizes to be won in each of the prize categories.
You can add multiple patterns to a project in Stash Hub if you feel inspired to hack two or more different patterns together.
Jealous July
Have you discovered the monthly sewing motivator MAGAM (Make a garment a month) yet? Each month there is a different theme, with loads of room for creative interpretation.
‘Jealous July’ is this month’s theme. This is an opportunity to recreate an outfit you’ve been coveting, sew a fabric you’ve been jealously guarding or create something so fabulous that you’re the one making others jealous!
The July tags and hosts for this challenge are #MagamJealousJuly #magamsewalong @suestoney @sewing_in_spain and @hportemanteau. Check back next month to see what the August theme will be.
2 From Stash a Month
Our sewing stashes can be very personal and emotional, and worrying about our collection can stifle our creativity at times. @salixsews and @septemberfaden have created the hashtag #2fromstashamonth to encourage the sewing community to make up at least two pieces of fabric from their stash each month.
You’ll be surprised to find how much planning projects from your stash can inspire you to use fabric you already have. At Stash Hub, we always say your stash is like a fabric shop personally curated to your tastes, and the best part is, it’s FREE!
This challenge is ongoing, so you can keep sewing stash fabrics until you’ve made a dent in your collection. Use the #2fromstashamonth hashtag for encouragement on your stash sewing journey.
Standing Tall Quilt-Along
Sarah @so_sarah_sewed and Theresa @lostmythread realised they both had the same quilt pattern on their to-sew list. They have created this challenge to encourage themselves and the entire community to make it together. They’ll be making YouTube videos to motivate you along the way.
The free ‘Standing Tall’ quilt pattern by Cedar Quilt Co is simple design is perfect for beginner sewists or garment sewists who want to try their hand at quilt making. It comes in a range of sizes and can be truly customized with your unique fabric selection.
There is a suggested timeline for this challenge, but you’re welcome to sew the quilt at your own pace and share your progress along the way. Tag Sarah @so_sarah_sewed and Theresa @lostmythread and use #StandingTallQAL in your Instagram posts.
Continuing Sewing Challenges
In addition to the July 2024 sewing challenges listed above, there are longer term challenges you can still engage with, or challenges contunuining on from last month.
Have you completed your project for #SewSevenTogether yet? The reveal date is coming up soon, on 7th July. Check out the June sewing challenges round up for more info on how to get involved.
Now that we’re over halfway through the year, it’s a good time to check in with your #MakeNine. Are you still feeling inspired by the nine projects you planned at the start of the year? If not, it’s totally allowed to switch out some projects for something you’re feeling more excited about making. The whole point of the #MakeNine challenge is to help you learn more about your sewing preferences and encourage you to sew projects you love.
Have you entered the #LastSewistStanding challenge? Even if you didn’t join when the challenge launched in February, or were participating but succumbed to a tempting fabric purchase (happens to the best of us), you can still rejoin in the Independent category. Fabric bans are a really good way to find out what drives your fabric purchasing and how we really feel about our stashes, so they can be worth joining in with even if you’re not too concerned with reducing the size of your sewing collection. I listened to a great episode of the Sew What’s New podcast recently, where Jess and Sam discuss their experiences with fabric bans.
Sewing Challenges in Stash Hub
Find more details about these sewing challenges and link them to your projects in Stash Hub. The Challenges section will be updated with new challenges each month so don’t forget to check it. Check out the YouTube tutorial below to find out how to use Challenges in Stash Hub.
I hope all these challenges have got you feeling inspired and excited to join in! Community has been key to my personal journey and is at the core of Stash Hub. If you spot (or host) a new sewing challenge on social media, send them to me @stash_hub or email me yvette@stashhubapp.com so I can add them to the app and encourage more sewists to get involved. We love supporting creativity in the sewing community and are happy to sponsor prizes for sewing challenges. Drop me a message if you are hosting a challenge soon!