Wrap Up for Make Nine 2023 & Make Nine 2024
Hello!
It’s been ages since my last post, but today I’m back with my annual Make Nine update.
2023 has been a strange year to say the least. At the beginning of the year I had every intention of posting here at least once a month, but I started writing for Threads Magazine in February which meant all of my creativity and free time to work on personal articles was transferred to writing monthly digital ambassador articles. It has been an incredible experience working with Threads, and I’m hoping to continue writing for them at some capacity but I also want to do my best to maintain my more personal corner of the Internet.
Working with Threads has given me the opportunity to work on two enormous, super time intensive projects - one being my hand embroidered Olya Shirt and the other a surprise that you’ll get to see in their Spring 2024 print issue! Although it’s been a low-sew year for me due to a plethora of reasons, I’m still very proud of the pieces that I completed.
I feel like I’m in a super transitional point in my life where everything is moving and changing without my say, and working on long winded, slow projects has been really helpful in maintaining some sense of control and agency. I’m hoping to continue this approach of slow sewing in the new year. I’m also dead set on making a sizeable dent in my fabric stash this year. I’ve been pretty good about not buying too much new fabric and being very intentional about the fabric that I do buy, but I still have a massive, overwhelming stash that I need to take care of. We’re also hoping to make a big move this year, so I sort of have to deal with the stash :’)
Okay, without further ado, let’s see how I did for last year’s list!
Wrap up for Make Nine 2023
1) A full canvas front tailored waistcoat
Yes! This was my first project for 2023, and I even managed to write a blog post about it :’) I’m super proud of this piece, and although it has some flaws it was an incredible learning experience and I finally feel ready to tackle more complicated tailoring projects and incorporating some traditional tailoring techniques to my everyday sewing. The pattern I used is the Veronica Vest from Just Patterns, and the fabric is a 50-50 wool and poly blend suiting remnant from my local fabric store.
2) The perfect summer shirt
The original plan was to draft a camp collar oversized shirt pattern for this item, but I ended up trying the Genra Shirt pattern from Daughter Judy Patterns and it completely scratched this itch. I made a slightly modified version with short sleeves and a cropped length, and used a lovely open weave, undyed linen remnant from my local store for the fabric. The entire piece is hand finished, and you can find more details on the seam finishes on this article on Threads Magazine as well as my dedicated Instagram post.
3) A blazer for me… 4) and a blazer for my partner!
Unfortunately no… and no. Maybe this year? I was lucky enough to find a tailor made men’s blazer from the 70's at an amazing vintage store in Istanbul, and having a really well fitting sample at my disposal makes me feel much more brave about tackling making my own.
5) A formal matching set & 7) A linen summer suit
Sort of yes, sort of no. A friend of mine got married in August, so I actually made a black linen set made up of wide leg pleated trousers and a corset inspired top to wear at her wedding. However I really didn’t feel like myself in the complete ensemble, so I ended up abandoning both of these pieces in my wardrobe and wearing by dark brown trousers and tailored waistcoat. I think both pieces are quite nice on their own, so I’ll take some photos and share them with you soon!
6) An 80s inspired denim jacket
Nope, I just didn’t have the time or energy to draft the pattern let alone figure out the construction. I’m still interested in patterning this jacket though, because at this point I’m convinced that it houses at least half my powers and I dread to think of the day my beloved leather version gives up on me.
8) More knit tops for me and my partner
Yes! I tackled this at the very beginning of the year, and made us both a few knit goods. I used up a few knits from my stash to make my partner some nice turtleneck tops, as well as almost all my white jersey stash to make him some basic tees. I recently acquired some beautiful brown rib knits, so I’m planning to make even more to fill out some wardrobe gaps for both of us.
9) Some sort of colourwork knitwear
I started knitting the Ziggy Sweater by Rows Knitwear a couple of weeks ago, and although it’s essentially just stripes and not “true colourwork” (in that you don’t switch between different colours per row / round) I still feel like it should count as “some sort of colourwork”! For some reason it made me less scared of trying real colourwork, so I’m very excited to finally try a fair isle / stranded colourwork project this year.
Make Nine 2024
Alright, with that out of the way, let’s dive into my project plans for the new year. Some of the goals I want to incorporate into my sewing practice are familiarising myself more with tailoring techniques, continuing to tackle hand-sewing-intensive projects, and make high quality pieces that easily fit into my wardrobe and stay there for many years to come. I also want to keep this list as realistic and doable as possible, while using up fabrics from my stash and minimising fabric purchases.
1) An oversized trench coat
This is the one big ticket item I’m hoping to get done this year!
I’ve been wanting to tackle this project for a good while, and I finally feel ready to do it. I have a really beautiful, super dark green, wool-poly blend gabardine suiting in my stash that I want to use for this project, it’s a heavier weight than my other suiting fabrics so I think it will work perfectly for a trench coat. I’ve been looking for the perfect pattern for the past couple of months, but I think I’ll just go with the Burda pattern I used to make my green wool coat. I’ll modify it slightly to incorporate some classic trench coat features like a storm flap, a gun flap, button tabs on the sleeves, and a ton of inner pockets.
I’m also hoping to incorporate some soft tailoring into the construction like canvassing the collar and maybe the front pieces, taping the edges, and doing hand sewn buttonholes. I will definitely document my entire process for you, so let me know if there are any specific details / parts of the process you’re extra curious about.
2) More knit basics
Well made knits basics in my colour palette are such life savers in my wardrobe, and finding good knits here in Turkey is a near impossible task. My local fabric store recently miraculously stocked a ton of really nice rib knits in a million colours, including a few different shades of brown (I honestly couldn’t believe my eyes, why is finding brown fabric so hard here?!) so I’m planning to make a few tank tops, short sleeved mock-neck tops, and turtlenecks. I’m also hoping to use up most if not all of my existing knit fabric stash. They take SO MUCH SPACE in my fabric storage shelf and I desperately need to control my stash situation.
3) A completely hand sewn shirt
I fell hard in love with hand sewing this past year, and now I can’t get the idea of making a fully hand sewn shirt out of my head. I don’t have the perfect pattern - fabric combo in mind yet, but I’ll likely just go with a slightly more fitted, classic button up shirt made from a lovely linen or cotton.
4) Casual corduroy trousers
I’ve always had a soft spot for corduroy, and I’ve been thinking about making myself a staple pair of corduroy trousers for years now. Atelier Brunette very kindly gifted me some of their stunning bubble corduroy in a stunning shade of ivy green a little while ago, so I’m excited to finally tackle this project. As for the pattern, I’m thinking about making a modified version of my self drafted Mylo Trousers with a straighter leg cut, a single pleat instead of two, and some more casual pockets.
5) A larger needle-turn appliqué garment
I’ve tried my hand at needle-turn appliqué for the first time a couple of months ago for an article I wrote for Threads, and as expected I just loved the process and the results. Now that I know the basics and I’m happy with the effect, I would love to do a project centred around a larger and / or more complicated appliqué motif. I’m not quite sure what yet, but I’ll keep you updated.
6) A shirt dress (?!)
Look, I’m just as surprised as you. I haven’t worn a single dress in years and years, and I historically feel really uncomfortable in them. The last couple of weeks I’ve been questioning if my discomfort originated from not being able to find a dress that fits my more masculine style, and I started toying with the idea of making a longer shirt dress (like the Genra shirt dress or even the Olya shirt dress) that I can wear with my waistcoats, jackets, and boots. I don’t know if I’ll be able to convince myself to go through with this, but maybe putting it on this list will help me be brave :’)
7) Button fly trousers
With the small army of trousers I made over the years, I never tried incorporating a button fly. I love buttons, and I love trousers, so this year I want to make a pair that combines them both! I haven’t decided if I want to conceal the buttons or not, but I’ll let my fabric choice lead the way on that. Bonus points if I actually use a fabric from my stash!
8) Wave Vest by Rows Knitwear
With my new found courage to tackle colourful striped and new-to-me stitches, I feel ready to try my hand making myself a Wave Vest from Rows Knitwear! I’ve been in love with this pattern since the day it was released, but I was also very intimidated by it. Seeing how well written and clear Rows patterns are, I am so excited to finally make my own. I love the cream and blue sample, but I’m thinking about going with some combination of olive green, brown, and cream depending on yarn availability.
9) A stranded colourwork knitting project
I’m not quite sure about the pattern I’ll use for this, but here are a few incredible options I’m considering: Notebook Sweater by @odd_row, Viperidae Sweater by @klaraceciliaknitwear, and Fortuna’s Wheel Pullover by @elspethvance. If you see a fun stranded colourwork sweater pattern featuring animals or any other cool, unexpected motifs, please please please send them over to me on Instagram, I still haven’t found the perfect pattern. Bonus points if it’s available for purchase outside of ravelry as I can’t buy anything from them here in Turkey :’)
There you have it, my preliminary plans for sewing and knitting in 2024! As an additional goal, I want to take some time in the winter break to upload my entire fabric and pattern stash to Backstitch, which is an incredible project and stash management platform my dear friend Guro and her partner are developing for sewists. Oh and I also want to make myself a really cool and personalised tool pouch so that I can keep all my weird essentials with me in a more organised fashion. Aaand maybe try my hand at some quilting? I don’t know, we’ll see.
I hope this year brings us all tons of good sewing luck, and I also hope I personally have a better, more consistent year than the last. I would love to hear about your plans for 2024 down in the comments or on my Instagram! Happy new years everyone 💌🐒