My picks from the Making Zen Online Retreat 2026

If you love hand sewing, patchwork, playing with fabric scraps and discovering slightly unexpected textile techniques, you might want to pop the Making Zen Online Retreat into your calendar.

Making Zen is a free five-day online creative retreat featuring 30 pre-recorded workshops from textile artists and makers around the world. I’m not teaching at this retreat, but I am an affiliate, and I’ve had a good rummage through the program to find the workshops I think Craftapalooza stitchers will enjoy most.

There’s a lovely mixture of embroidery, EPP, slow stitching, fabric manipulation, mending, mixed media and other creative techniques to explore.

REGISTER FREE FOR MAKING ZEN HERE!

Important dates

• 14 September 2026: VIP Pass holders receive early access to the pre-recorded workshops.
• 25 September 2026: Making Zen’s fifth-anniversary Kickoff Call and prize draw takes place live on Zoom. It will also be recorded.
• 28 September to 2 October 2026: The free online retreat.
• Each day’s free workshops are released at 11am Eastern Time, which is 11pm AWST here in Perth, and remain available free for 24 hours.
• VIP members receive lifetime workshop access, retreat bonuses, an eBook, live Sip & Stitch gatherings and group making sessions.

You don’t need Facebook to watch the workshops. They’re hosted on the Making Zen website, although there is an optional Facebook group if you’d like to share your projects and chat with other makers.

REGISTER FREE FOR MAKING ZEN HERE!

Nic’s top workshop pick

From Flat to Form: Welcome to 3D EPP! - Cass Merrigan of Cake & Ale • 28 September

This was always going to be at the top of my list.

Cass uses traditional English paper piecing in a slightly unexpected way to create a small three-dimensional trinket bowl. It’s scrap-friendly, achievable and useful, which is a combination you know I’m rather fond of.

If you’ve made a Blossie Basket, enjoy EPP or are curious about taking flat patchwork into three dimensions, make sure you catch this one.

More workshops I think you’ll love

Boro-Inspired Peekaboo Pouch - Kate Ward • 28 September

Create a little pouch using layered cloth and boro-inspired stitching. This should appeal to anyone who loves visible hand stitching, fabric scraps and projects where texture and imperfection are part of the charm.

Traces of Touch: Exploring Layering, Texture and Motif - Rebekah Johnston • 28 September

A slow-stitching workshop exploring layers, repeated motifs and the tactile qualities of repurposed cloth. A lovely choice if you enjoy intuitive stitching and want to loosen up creatively without worrying about perfect results.

Family Cloth: Stitched Keepsakes - Michelle Hamill • 29 September

Transform meaningful, inherited or well-loved textiles into hand-stitched keepsakes. This one is less about using the “right” fabric and more about preserving memories and stories through cloth and stitch.

Zwirnknopfe: The German Dorset Button - Kimberly Ligocki • 29 September

Learn to make a traditional German thread button using a simple three-step process. These tiny woven “thread mandalas” could become buttons, embellishments, ornaments or beautiful little additions to a special patchwork project.

Stitching Joy: Adding Whimsy to Your Life With Embroidery

Mollie Johanson • 29 September

Mollie is known for her playful, super-cute embroidery designs. This workshop is for anyone who likes their stitching with an extra dose of colour, personality and joy.

REGISTER FREE FOR MAKING ZEN HERE!

Introduction to Kinusaiga - Donna Davies • 29 September

Create a patchwork-inspired picture by tucking fabric into foam board rather than sewing it. It’s a beginner-friendly way to play with colour placement and quilt-block-style designs while trying an entirely different textile technique.

Stitching Dimensional Strawberries - Melissa Galbraith • 30 September

Learn to create luscious three-dimensional stumpwork strawberries using wire, padding and textured embroidery stitches. This is an intermediate workshop, but it should be full of useful ideas for anyone interested in dimensional embellishment.

I’m especially curious about this one after all my recent thinking about tiny fabric strawberries and vintage pincushions!

Crayon Tint Embroidery - Pattie Klimek • 30 September

Combine colouring and embroidery by adding crayon-tinted details to fabric before stitching. This looks like a fun, approachable technique that could also inspire new ways to add colour and detail to appliqué or small stitched projects.

Abstract Textile Seedpods - Kristin Peterson • 1 October

Mould, dye and hand stitch fabric into wonderfully organic, dimensional seedpod forms. The finished pieces can stand alone or become textural embellishments for bags, journal covers and other textile projects.

Unpatterned Pleats: Improv Smocking for Rich Textures - Nichole Vogelsinger • 1 October

Forget rigid smocking patterns and experiment with simple stitches that gather fabric scraps into sculptural folds and textures. Nichole’s work is colourful, embellished and delightfully free-spirited, so this should be a good one if you enjoy beads, sequins and creative play.

Hand Stitched Franken Fabrics - BB Henry • 2 October

Join smaller scraps of fabric and paper with intuitive hand stitching to create completely new “Franken fabrics”. It sounds like an excellent excuse to raid the scrap basket and experiment without needing a carefully planned finished project.

Draw and Stitch an Alhambra Star Pattern - Clarissa Grandi • 2 October

Learn to construct and paper-stitch a geometric star inspired by the 14th-century Alhambra Palace in Granada. The design can be used for cards, bookmarks, artwork or translated into fabric, making this especially interesting for patchworkers who love geometry.

A few more worth investigating

Depending on what takes your fancy, you might also enjoy:

• Make a Hand Embroidered Landscape Brooch with Lauren Weber
• Embroidered Cuff Bracelet with Kasia Jacquot
• Painting Fabric with Watercolour and Inktense with Darcy Hunter
• Faux Oilcloth Coin Pouch with Kira McCoy
• Designing Your EmbroiderMend with Eva H. Kittelsen
• Pocket Workshop with Selina Latour
• The Traditional Rose Coaster with Deanne Fitzpatrick Rug Hooking Studio
• Cyanotypes for Beginners with Madge Evers

How the free retreat works

Registration is free. During the retreat, a new group of workshops becomes available each day and remains free to watch for 24 hours.

REGISTER FREE FOR MAKING ZEN HERE!

You don’t necessarily need to make along immediately. You can watch, take notes and decide which techniques you’d like to return to later.

If you know the 24-hour windows will feel rushed, the optional VIP Pass includes:

• Early workshop access from 14 September
• Lifetime access to all 30 workshops
• Live Sip & Stitch sessions
• Live group making sessions on Days Three, Four and Five
• A collection of artist gifts and bonuses
• The Making Zen retreat eBook

The workshop videos also include automatically generated captions in English, French, Spanish and German.

Ready to join?

I’m looking forward to seeing what Cass from Cake & Ale does with her three-dimensional EPP bowl, but I also have the German thread buttons, stumpwork strawberries, improv smocking and Franken fabrics firmly on my list.

You can register for a free ticket below.

REGISTER FREE FOR MAKING ZEN HERE!

Affiliate note: I’m not presenting at Making Zen this year, but I am an affiliate. If you choose to purchase a VIP Pass through my link, I may receive a commission at no additional cost to you. Free registration is completely free.