Make Nine 2025 photo recap

Although I completed Make Nine 2025 in October, I like to do a recap blog post of the year’s projects—to see photos of them all in one place and “compare and contrast,” the projects, so to speak.

Make Nine 2025 projects, fulfilling these prompts:
Top row: UFO, Mend/Upcycle, UFO
Middle: Make it Again, Simple and Stress-free, Online Challenge
Bottom: Wild Card, Yarn, Wild Card

Above is a photo grid of my completed projects. The grid corresponds to my Make Nine tracker (below). 

Make Nine 2025 tracker at the beginning of the year.

Make Nine 2025 summary

The prompts I chose for Make Nine 2025 were similar to past years. Interestingly, 2025 generated a lot of “books”—five in total—constructed with paper, fabric, or both. The remaining four finishes consisted of two wearables, a mended vintage quilt, and charity quilts—with a glorious batch of kitty quilts that get donated to local veterinarians. Below is how each prompt was fulfilled (left to right, from top left), with links to their stories.

• UFO 1: was a fabric book. I compiled the stitched compositions from my 2023 100 Day Project into a fabric book using a binding technique I learned this year. (finish #6, book #3)

• Mend/Upcycle: This prompt addresses sustainability, minimizing waste, and taking care of and using what we have. I again participated in the Winter Care and Repair Challenge and one of my mending projects was a vintage quilt. (finish #3)

• UFO 2: was the completion of an artist’s book with a kantha stitched cover that I started in a workshop in 2017. The book’s signatures were paper and the cover was fabric with kantha hand stitching. (finish #7, book #5)

• Make it Again: I used a favorite Siena Shirt pattern and a fabric collection called, Perfect Points for this shirt. Blog posts about other versions of the Siena Shirt and various garment makes can be found here. (finish #4)

• Simple and Stress-free: I continue to make scrappy, improv, charity quilts for the cats and dogs at the local vets. I donated 16 in March, and completed 3 additional during the remainder of the year. I also finished 3 cuddle quilts for charity in December. Total charity quilts = 23. (finish #2)

• Online Challenge: This project and finish came early in the year with a book/journal from the Junk Journal January Challenge. (finish #1, book #1)

• Wild Card 1: was another fabric book made through participation in an online Challenge, the 100 Day Stitch Book 2025. This stitch sampler book was the impetus for the UFO 1 project, which used the same bookbinding technique. (finish #5, book #2)

• Yarn: I made a vow to myself that this year’s yarn project was going to be a stash-buster. I succeeded in using only yarn from a shop-and-swap, an impulse yarn purchase from several years ago, and yarns from my stash. The Taos wrap (crochet) was a brilliant success and I love the finished piece. (finish #9)

• Wild Card 2: was another junk journal from participation in the Junk Journal July Challenge, an online challenge. This was my 5th junk journal. I enjoy making and working in handmade junk journals and I know I’ll be making more. (finish #8, book #4)

Make Nine 2025 tracker, December 20, 2025.

I’m pondering prompts for 2026—my 8th year! I may have to include a “bookmaking” prompt next time…

A new Siena Shirt with Perfect Points

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.

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?!

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, long staple, 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

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. 

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.

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.

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.

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.” 

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!

Make it Again prompt, Make Nine 2025.

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!”

My Perfect Points Siena Shirt.

Color blocking a shirt with Paintbrush Studio flat fat stacks

Color blocked garments combine one or more fabrics that are usually contrasting, bold, or unexpected, in a single garment to make a statement. Color blocking is a cool trend and can make use of interesting sewing techniques. Have you tried this technique? 

I just completed a creative experiment to make a "faux" color blocked shirt using a flat fat stack from Paintbrush Studio.

Color blocked Siena Shirt using Indian Summer cotton fabrics.

So, what’s a flat fat stack?

Paintbrush Studio Fabrics offers "flat fat stacks" with their quilting cotton collections. A flat fat stack is a selection of fat-quarter-size (18” x 22”) prints that are printed side-by-side on a single, continuous piece of fabric. It’s like buying a fat quarter bundle only the fat quarters aren't individual pieces—they come on a long piece of fabric. I used a flat fat stack from the Indian Summer collection by Sumana Ghosh-Witherspoon for this shirt. It had 12 fat quarter prints—or 3 yards of fabric. 

The Siena Shirt pattern

My shirt pattern was the Siena Shirt from The Sewing Workshop. It’s a pattern I’ve used numerous times so I was familiar with the pattern pieces and the construction.

The Siena Shirt pattern from The Sewing Workshop.

Pattern layout and construction

Laying out the pattern pieces was similar to the pattern's diagrams except the fabric was laid out in a single layer—no pieces were cut on the fold or in a double layer. Left and right front pieces were cut from different areas of the fabric to achieve the color blocked look. Same with the back pieces.

Pattern pieces laid out on a single fabric layer.

The collar, collar stand, sleeves, and back yoke were cut from different areas of the fabric and prints, too. The Siena Shirt worked well for this initial experiment because there were several smaller pattern pieces that could fit easily on a fat quarter piece of fabric.

The Siena Shirt made good use of the variety of prints in the flat fat stack.

During construction, I was careful to line up the prints across the front and side front seams and the back and side back seams. I didn’t have to match anything at the side seams.

Matching the print at the front seams.

The button band also looks color blocked. After button auditioning, the dark red ones made the cut.

Auditioning buttons for the front button band.

My 6th Make Nine finish for 2022

I’m fulfilling the “Something New in ’22” prompt for my Make Nine Challenge with this project. The extra thought and time involved with laying out the pattern pieces and matching the prints was worth the challenge and experimentation. 

Make Nine 2022 tracker, July 31, 2022.

Using the continuous yardage format of the flat fat stack eliminated the piecing that's generally required for color blocking... but achieved the same visual effect. The asymmetry is very much like color blocking seen in garments with this fashion trend. Because the various fabric prints were from a fabric collection, the designs and aesthetic were cohesive... which made choosing the fabric(s) easy.

"Faux color blocked" Siena Shirt. It goes with everything!

My husband’s comment about my new shirt: “It goes with everything.”

That's a "win!"

Fall Quilt Market Recap, part 1: Garment sewing

Fall Quilt Market 2019 is now down in the books. Here's my photo capsule of things you'll be seeing in YLQS [your local quilt shops] and independent fabric stores in the months ahead.

A view of the Market floor at the George R. Brown convention center.

Garment sewing going strong!
The vendor booths illustrated that quilting cottons aren't just for quilting—but also for sewing. The Diamond Textiles booth had a mini "garment district" display featuring tops, jackets, dresses and childrenswear made from their yarn-dyed textured wovens, World Fabrics, and their curated collections of ikats, embossed cottons and pintuck cottons.

A mini Garment District at the Diamond Textiles booth.

I wore my navy Nine Lives top [The Sewing Workshop pattern] made from Diamond Textiles' pintuck fabric collection on the second day of Market.

My Nine Lives Top [The Sewing Workshop pattern] in a Diamond Textiles navy pintuck.

The Australian aboriginal designs from M&S Textiles Australia are eye-catching in apparel. This Classic Caftan [pattern from Indygo Junction]—featuring two aboriginal fabric prints—is an easy, breezy top that can be worn alone or over a long sleeve tee.

Classic Caftan in aboriginal fabrics from M&S Textiles Australia. 

Have you considered batiks for garment sewing? 
Why not?! This zippered hooded jacket (below, left) showcases a Banyan Batik from the Kilts & Quilts / Addicted to Plaid collection by Patience Griffin. I sooo love that there are pockets on this jacket!

For warmer temps, consider the sleeveless Hannah Dress [Victory patterns] in rayon or cotton fabrics from After the Rain by Sara Boccaccini Meadows for FIGO. Contrasting fabrics highlight the Hannah's angled side seams and front pockets. The neckline is finished with a double fold binding—a technique quite familiar to quiltmakers.

Zippered hooded jacket with Banyan Batiks (left)
and sleeveless Hannah shift dress with FIGO rayon fabrics.

Another FIGO display vignette showed garments alongside quilts. Check out FIGO lookbooks for additional garment, accessory and quilt inspiration.

The Glasshouse collection comes in two colorways and includes
four 53"/54" rayon prints.

P&B Textiles borrowed my new favorite Siena Shirt for their booth at Market (unfortunately, I didn't get a picture of the booth). This shirt showcases a fabulous digital print from the P&B Off the Grid 45 collection (Off the Grid is also available in 108" wide backings). You can read about my making process for this shirt in this blog post.

Off the Grid Siena Shirt. Digital fabric print from P&B Textiles.
Pattern from The Sewing Workshop.

In one of the Northcott booths, new designer, Brett Lewis, had this man's shirt on display. It features a print from the Stag and Thistle collection for Northcott.

Stag and Thistle print from Northcott.

Are you a garment maker? Re-use your patterns for efficiency and economics.
Before leaving for Market, I was able to get two pairs of pants and a new top made. I reused my Collins Top pattern [from In the Folds] and paired it with my yardage from the green colorway of Off the Grid by P&B Textiles. It was fun to wear this top to the P&B sales meeting.

The Collins Top was my first 2019 Make Nine finish, so I was already familiar with this top's construction. Re-using garment patterns makes efficient use of your time because:

• the pattern pieces are already cut out, making the pattern piece layout quick and easy, and 
• the muslin-making steps were completed on the first make. 

When there's a time crunch, it's so nice to have a go-to pattern that is familiar and already fitted to your body!

The Collins Top from In the Folds. Fabric is Off the Grid from P&B Textiles.

Be sure to make notes on your pattern so you'll be reminded of any helpful tips for the next make—another time-saver! And, with the second... and all subsequent makes... that $20 pattern is also FREE to use! We all like that. 

Bank that savings and apply it to great buttons, a useful tool or new fabric! 

Going Off the Grid with the Siena Shirt

It was love at first sight! 
Everything about this fabric—the colors, the gritty, industrial-like texture, the energetic, painterly design—came together gloriously in a digitally printed cotton, called Off the Grid. I just had to get a piece of this fabric!

My new Siena Shirt [from The Sewing Workshop] made with Off the Grid from P&B Textiles.

Actually, I got two pieces from the Off the Grid collection by P&B Textiles—because I couldn't decide which colorway I liked best. (It's always a dilemma... so just get them both, I say.)

Off the Grid from P&B Textiles: GR45 109GL (left) and GR45 109DB (right).

Siena Shirt pattern
I considered a few pattern options, but in the end, went with my tried-and-true (already fitted to me) Siena Shirt pattern from The Sewing Workshop. This is my 5th make from this pattern.

The Siena shirt in Off the Grid (dark blue colorway).

Siena Shirt pattern from The Sewing Workshop.

Process of [button] Elimination
The only perplexing part of this make was auditioning and making the choice of buttons. I dumped out the green and the blue ones from my inventory. (Don't giggle, I'm not the only one with an extensive button collection.)

Auditioning the buttons for the shirt.

Dismissed the ones that were:

• too big or too small for a shirt (the pattern suggests 1/2" buttons)
• obviously not the right color
• less than the quantity needed (the pattern suggests 8)
• inappropriate for the look (stars, anchors, the ones with gold, etc.)

Dismissing the buttons that don't meet the criteria.

Narrowed the choice to four...

Auditioning buttons.

and ultimately chose the hexagon shaped buttons. They were a complimentary color with a slight iridescence property... and there were eight.

Set-up for a practice buttonhole.

I always make a test buttonhole or two on a fabric scrap. The thread—a variegated 40 wt cotton from YLI—was a perfect match. The color combination included navy, turquoise, medium blue and even a touch of lavender.

A YLI variegated cotton thread for the buttonholes.

After the handwork finishing processes (hand sewing the inside neck band, sewing on the buttons, burying thread tails) my new Off the Grid Siena shirt was complete!

Back view: Siena shirt [The Sewing Workshop] with Off the Grid [P&B Textiles].

The detail I added to this garment was a side vent at the lower hem... just something to make it a little different.

Siena shirt side vent.

Quilting cottons and digital prints for garment sewing and quilting
If you're a sewer or garment maker, don't be hesitant about using quilting cottons or a digitally printed fabric in your next garment or sewing project. This Off the Grid cotton print machine washed, machine dried and sewed very nicely.

If you're a quilter and know the wonderful advantages of wide backings, Off the Grid also comes in a 108" wide back. Ask YLQS [your local quilt shop] or independent sewing center that carries fabric for Off the Grid. Remember, if you can't decide which colorway you like best, get them all (there are five)!

Like a newly painted canvas, I'm looking forward to wearing and showing off my Off the Grid Siena. I think it's an illustration of a symbiotic relationship between digital printing technology, street art and wearables. What's not to love?!

Reflecting on my Me-Made-May wardrobe

Now that the calendar page has turned from May to June, I'm doing a brief assessment of my participation in the Me Made May Challenge 2019. [#MeMadeMay]

Patchwork jacket with yarn-dyed textured wovens from Diamond Textiles.

Jackets
High on the list of accomplishments in May was making and wearing this patchwork jacket—my new favorite jacket—and also a piece on my MakeNine list. Started in 2018, this one took the longest to complete and, as with most jackets, it had many hand finishing details: button loops, buttons, burying thread tails and hand sewing hems, facings and bias bindings. It also has an inside pocket that was hand sewn into place. But it was worth all the effort! I'm extremely pleased with how it turned out.

This jacket was completed in time to wear in the Diamond Textiles booth at Spring Quilt Market. Yarn-dyed textured wovens are all the rage lately, so it was fun and appropriate to show and wear this jacket. A well-attended schoolhouse session with Linda Lee about using textured wovens for garments, as well as in quilts, reinforced the versatility of these beautiful fabrics.

Knit Tops
I make and wear a lot of cotton knit tops, both long sleeve and short. They are all made from cotton knit fabric from Art Gallery Fabrics. Art Gallery has at least a gazillion different knits—different designs, colors and also solids. You could make a different one for every day of the year!

The fabric is 95% cotton jersey and 5% spandex, so it washes and sews easily while maintaining shape and stability. My knit tops are soft, comfy, easy-care garments that are great for travel. 

Short sleeve knit top. Fabric from Art Gallery Fabrics.

I have several print and solid Art Gallery knit tops that I coordinate with MeMade jackets or wear by themselves. The versatility of layering is great for unpredictable weather and travel.

Short sleeve knit top (front) coordinates with a Primitive Stars jacket.

Here is one of my long sleeve knit tops that I worn with a MeMade knit vest in early May, when the weather was still cool. The Lolita vest is another of my MakeNine projects.

Lolita knit vest paired with a cotton long sleeve knit top.

Woven Tops

I've made 4 Siena Shirts so far and I'm sure there will be more! I know how this top fits and it gets quicker to make each time because I am familiar with the construction. The Siena and Cortona Shirt pattern is from The Sewing Workshop. My shirts are made from 100% cotton woven fabrics and I'm getting my money's worth with this pattern!

Siena Shirt #1. Fabrics from M&S Textiles Australia.

I have worn each of my Siena Shirts a few times throughout May. Pictured here are various versions using several fabrics.

• Siena Shirt #1 (above): cotton fabrics from M&S Textiles Australia.
• Siena Shirt #4 (below left) is made with an Australian aboriginal print M&S Textiles Australia paired with a yarn-dyed woven called Tweed Thicket from Diamond Textiles. 
• Siena Shirt #2 (below right) uses more Australian aboriginal fabrics from M&S Textiles.

Left: Australian aboriginal print from M&S Textiles and Tweed Thicket from Diamond Textiles.
Right: Two complimentary prints from M&S Textiles.

Siena Shirt #3 is made with Stonehenge fabrics from Northcott. More details on the hand stitching embellishments can be found in this blog post.

Siena Shirt #3 made with Stonehenge fabrics from Northcott.

Another Sewing Workshop pattern I like is the Nine Lives Vest. I wore this top at Quilt Market and it's made with a pintuck fabric from Diamond Textiles.

Nine Lives Vest from The Sewing Workshop.
Pintuck fabric from Diamond Textiles.

Other MeMadeMay tops were:

• Wiksten Top (left): uses Tweed Thicket from Diamond Textiles.
• Collins Top from In the Folds: uses Nikko Geo 4708 from Diamond Textiles.

I got both of these patterns from TopStitch Studio and Lounge Atlanta.

Wiksten Top (left) made in Tweed Thicket from Diamond Textiles.
Collins Top from In the Folds in Nikko Geo 4708 from Diamond Textiles.

Jackets

This is another well-loved jacket that I made in 2017. I wore it a few times for MeMadeMay and at Quilt Market. Fabrics are from Diamond Textiles.

• Primitive Stars yarn-dyed woven.
• Ikat
• miscellaneous cotton prints for patches on the back.

Primitive Stars jacket.

This jacket is made from the same Raggy Jacket pattern as the patchwork jacket above [Raggy Jacket from Four Corners Designs]. This version has kantha hand stitching on the back. Details about the hand stitching can be found in this blog post.

Kantha stitching and applique patches on jacket back.
See more details in this blog post.

My Me-Made Wardrobe Assessment
You may have heard the latest terminology for the go-to basics you continually reach for from your closet: "core wardrobe" and "uniform" pieces. In reflecting on this month of "Me Made May," I've concluded I'm all about comfort, versatility and functional garments, and my wardrobe and garment sewing endeavors reflect that.

• The cotton fabrics—knits and wovens—are easy care, breathable and easy to sew/stitch.
• I re-use my patterns. Once the garment patterns are fitted to my body, style and comfort, the garment construction process gets easier and quicker with each make. There is minimal learning curve with "familiar" patterns.
• Layering and versatility of individual pieces is important to me. It's imperative for my travel job.
• Infusing creativity. Even though I use the same pattern multiple times, the choice of fabric, color, threads, embellishments and details will make each garment interesting—to make and to wear.

Did you participate in Me Made May 2019? What did you learn about your wardrobe of your sewing practices? Leave a comment and share what you discovered.