Doctor T Designs

November has been an interesting month. It started with the wrap-up of my last big travel event (hopefully) for the year. When I came home I was sick (again) with non-COVID, plus the usual post-travel exhaustion, so I didn’t think there would be a lot of sewing going on this month. However, I’ve had a big bump of crafting energy pop up in the last few days; I’ve got 3 or 4 projects actively in progress, with another 2 in the planning stages. I’m hopeful that this project motivation and energy carries through to next month and that I can maybe squeeze in a few extra projects before the end of the year.

Sewing Progress

As I posted earlier this month, my shirt sewing plans have been derailed by bra sewing plans. However, my bra sewing plans have been derailed by the speed of the postal system (my supplies have arrived, my pattern has not), so I’m taking the time to work on a few other projects. I’m going back to work on pattern adjustments for the shirt sewing project; I need to look at the fit of the toile again and confirm if I need to make any adjustments in addition to raising the under arm seam, because arm mobility is a thing that I’d really like to have. I’m also working on a few machine embroidery projects as gifts; I’ll post more about those once I have more than just a pile of supplies. My sister and I, because we are impatient for bra patterns to arrive, decided to jump over to the Craftsy class on panty making since it is tangentially related. It is taught by the same instructor (Beverly Johnson), whom I really enjoy on the video platform.

Since we had a long holiday weekend in the US, my sister and I drafted our patterns and made our first samples for test-fitting. I have to say that the fit is surprisingly good! There are definitely a few things we need to change to make the patterns suit our liking (the placement of the crotch gusset seam is just odd, and the initial draft in the class is done to go all the way up to the waist, which is really high…) but it really is a very good starting point. It is also a really option to do as a first draft-it-yourself type pattern because it is very simple to draft. We definitely went into it with a “this is test version 1.0” mindset, and I think that was good, because neither of us were 100% happy with the final result, for various reasons. I think with a bit of tweaking though, this could soon be a TNT pattern, and a great way to use up leftover bits of scrap fabric from other projects. I’ve never been interested in sewing non-costuming undergarments before, but this might become a new obsession. It definitely uses a lot of the skills I honed sewing skating costumes, so I can zip through the construction really quickly, which is nice. I’ll hopefully post a more detailed review after we go through the next steps of the class by modifying the patterns for different styles and a few small fit adjustments. I’m not entirely sure if I will post pictures of the finished projects on the blog or not. (I definitely won’t post them on me, but ever since I started blogging I’ve had a weird thing about posting underwear pictures. On the one hand, I find the images helpful when people post them on other blogs, but on the other I find it a bit weird showing the internet my undergarments, specifically, even if they are on a table or dress form. I might compromise on this and post pictures to Pattern Review and not the blog, just because then it’s a bit more detached from me specifically. I haven’t really decided what I’m going to do with this yet, honestly, but it’s a bridge I will cross when I get there, I guess.)

In other sewing news, finally I can share my sister’s dress project! This was made using the Cashmerette Holyoke Dress pattern and is probably one of the project she has done the most work on herself without any of my physical help on the trickier techniques:

She says she might need to modify the bodice a bit because it is a little large, but otherwise I think she is happy with the dress! She’s also officially a real sewist now because she finished a summer dress just in time for winter.

Sewing Delays

I wasn’t able to sew for about a week this month due to travel. Unfortunately, I was also sick again this month (not COVID, but definitely something respiratory that is still stubbornly hanging on) and there was the usual craziness of holidays and such as well, so I didn’t get a ton of sewing time in for much of November. But I actually picked up a lot of projects over the holiday weekend and I’m excited to hopefully continue the sewjo into December.

Finished Projects

Technically I sewed panties from the Craftsy class, but they are version 1.0 and will honestly probably never get worn until I cut them up and fix the height of the waistband, and the tightness of the elastic. So I don’t know if I would consider this as a “finished” project, but there was at least a garment produced.

WIPs & Upcoming Plans

November didn’t really see the completion of the shirt project, but I definitely got started on making some “practical” things (I think undergarments can either be practical or wildly impractical, but I’m still sewing at the “practical” end of the spectrum). I haven’t really had a chance to do a wardrobe assessment or plans for a revamp yet because the need for some fancy party clothes has become a bit more immediate and jumped up on the to-sew priority list. I’m hoping that in the next month I can get a TNT panty pattern worked out, start on the bra sewing and fitting adventure, make a button down shirt, finish a few embroidery and Cricut crafting project gifts, and start working on patterns and sewing for fancy party clothes. Compared to what I’ve been doing this seems much too overly ambitious, but I’m excited to see what I can accomplish!