This is my new Perfect Points Siena Shirt! The pairing is fabric from the Perfect Points collection from Windham Fabrics with one of my go-to patterns from the Sewing Workshop, the Siena Shirt.
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| The Siena Shirt [Sewing Workshop pattern] with Perfect Points [Windham Fabrics]. |
You gotta love the classic Pickle Dish and Ohio Star patchwork blocks that have perfect points—without having to piece them yourself or deal with all the seam allowances. Easy peasy, right? And who doesn’t love a graphic black-and-white geometric print?!
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| The Siena Shirt with Perfect Points. |
High density cotton fabric
The Perfect Points I and Perfect Points II collections [from Windham Fabrics] are printed on high density cotton. The thread count is 150 threads per sq. in. (75 x 75) making the fabric soft, smooth and so lovely to wear next to the skin. I used Scanfil organic cotton thread in 50 wt. for sewing with a Universal 80/12 machine sewing needle. A Scanfil 30 wt. cotton was used for the button holes
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| Auditioning buttons for the Siena Shirt. |
Construction challenges
What was I thinking?? I had two different fabric prints, both with strong designs. The Siena Shirt has several pattern pieces—left and right fronts, a button band, front and back side panels, and sleeves—that required pattern matching at the seams if the shirt was going to have a cohesive look.
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| Anticipating the pattern matching at the sleeve and side panel seam. |
The critical areas for the pattern matching:
- the bodice fronts with the bodice side panels,
- the bodice back with the back side panels,
- at the sleeves where the cap meets the shoulder seam, and
- where the sleeves meet the bodice side panels,
- the button band with the bodice front.
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| Pattern matching at the sleeves and the bodice. |
The pickle dish design at the yoke and collar had to be centered and square. The Ohio Star print was also centered at the back (for the box pleat). All of these critical areas required accurate placement of the paper pattern on the fabric and careful pinning, cutting, and sewing.
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| Back view: centering the fabric designs on the collar, back yoke, and shirt back. |
I actually cut out three different sleeves—trying to best position the design to make a cohesive look. This was definitely a “learn as you go” construction process.
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| Three sleeves cut at different places. |
A more perfect pattern for Perfect Points
Although I absolutely adore the Siena Shirt pattern (I’ve made it over 6 times now), were I to use fabric from the Perfect Points collections for another garment, I would use a pattern with fewer pattern pieces. A front and back… and possibly a sleeve pattern piece… is all that’s needed to showcase the fun Perfect Points patchwork designs but make the garment much easier to construct.
Better pattern choices for tops from my pattern stash would be the Wiksten Top and the Nine Lives top. Both have minimal pattern pieces and I’ve made both of these in the past. Or if you have a coat/jacket pattern with minimal pattern pieces, these prints would make a great “quilt coat.”
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| Patterns with minimal number of pattern pieces: Wiksten Top and Nine Lives top |
And there’s always quilts, bags, home dec items (pillows, runners, toppers, etc.) that would be so easy by just fussy cutting pieces or quilt blocks from these fabrics. And the points would all be perfect!
A Make Nine 2025 finish
This Perfect Points shirt fulfills my “Make it Again” prompt for Make Nine 2025. With the first six months of the year behind us, I have 6 of 9 Make Nine projects completed. I consider this fabulous progress!
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| Make it Again prompt, Make Nine 2025. |
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| Make Nine 2025 tracker, June 29. |
As we wrap up the month of June, here is my wish for you, “May your bobbin always be full and your points always match!”
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| My Perfect Points Siena Shirt. |
