Friday, March 6, 2026

Sewing by Sudoku, with PatternReview

5×5 = 25 (years) Sudoku Wardrobe Contest

One of the challenges I'm taking on right now is one I briefly mentioned as part of my monthly plans. It's the Suduko Wardrobe Challenge, hosted by PatternReview in celebration of the 25th anniversary of the site. As such, it's a Sudoku style grid of 25 squares which you have to fill with specific wardrobe items, to make multiple matching outfits. The good news is, you only have to sew 10 of the items for this grid, over 10 weeks! 

I spent quite a bit of time thinking about this one over January and February, and came up with a bit of a plan. I pulled fabrics from my stash, compared things, looked at patterns -- the planning is really half the fun! My working plan is based on a lot of my thrifted 80s and 90s patterns, with a couple of new ones thrown in. And the colour scheme is essentially black, cobalt, pink and a touch of print with other bright colours involved. Most of the fabrics are also stash. Here's an example of the grid you could use to make plans: with five different categories and nothing repeated anywhere. The outfits have to work horizontally, vertically, and across the two diagonals. 



I've begun the first project -- I am starting with the easy ones -- and will keep at it to see how close to finishing I get. I haven't been sewing one item a week in recent memory so will have to see if I can do it. But in any case, I have a fun wardrobe planned and will finish all the pieces at some point even if I don't make the contest deadline. It was great to pull so many nice fabrics out of the stash and make plans for them. 

1 comment:

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