Doctor T Designs

I didn’t think I’d get a lot of sewing done this month, but somehow June became the month of mending. Which isn’t super exciting sewing, but it’s also not nothing, so I’m rolling with it.

Sewing Progress

I didn’t work on any fun/new projects, but I did finally tackle some important items in my mending pile. Firstly, and most importantly, I replaced the fly zip in both of my suit trousers. I’m really not sure what the dry cleaner was up to the last time they had these, but they ruined both of my trouser zips and they smashed down one of the trouser hooks in the waistband? So I had to rip out and replace the zips, and take a plier/screwdriver combo to the hook to make it functional again. It’s suit wearing season again, so this was something that really needed to happen and I’m glad I finally got it done. I’m pretty pleased with the results too.

Next, I fixed the pocket zip in one of my favorite jackets. The right zipper pocket has been frozen for over a year, and I finally ripped it out and replaced it. I know a lot of people have mental blocks against fly front zips, but, ironically, this was a lot harder than the fly fronts to replace because there wasn’t a good way to reverse-engineer the zip pocket insertion without taking apart the whole jacket (which I didn’t do). It was a bit of a wing-it as I went situation, but overall I’m pretty happy with the results. I also fixed the pocket bag where I had cut a hole to get my phone out after it originally got stuck in there when the zip locked up. The end result actually came out pretty good all things considered except I forgot to close up the final pocket seam during my initial repair, so I dropped my phone at the airport because I had left a giant hole in the pocket. Not ideal, but my phone is fine and I’ve since fixed the final pocket seam, and I’ve got two pockets again, so I’m considering this another win.

I don’t have pictures of my other mending projects, but during my sister’s visit home I helped her convert a shirt from long to short sleeves on my coverstitch, helped her take in the top of her purple linen Cashmerette dress, helped her take in a white dress I made for her a long time ago and convert it to having pump pockets, and hemmed some of my old trousers for her. She also made off with a sweater top I never really loved on me, but looks great on her.

In other sewing/crafting news I’ve been having fun with Cricut t-shirt designs, some of which I hope to show off soon now that some of the HTV colors I had to order have arrived.

Sewing Delays

This was a busy month with a lot of travel and work and work after work. I’m also wrapping up the month with a monster of a head cold that was honestly a long time coming considering how much I’ve been traveling, how little I’ve been sleeping, and how poorly I’ve been eating this month. I think July will be much of the same (hopefully minus the cold), but I’m hoping to have more time for fun projects at the end of July and definitely during August.

Finished Projects

All of my finished projects were from the giant mending pile (most of which I didn’t even know had since my sister brought them all to my attention during her visit!). I guess there is something to be said for deadlines as a great motivator in terms of getting things done because all of these projects definitely had a “I need this before getting on the plane” vibe around them.

WIPs & Upcoming Plans

I’m looking forward to making some new garments soon, if only so that I won’t have to spend half of all my projects messing with a seam ripper! (It was a necessary step in almost all of my mending projects, which is understandable, but perhaps not the most fun.) I still have some half-done projects strewn about my sewing space, including more bras and a button down shirt, so I think one of those projects will likely be my next item once I get back to the sewing room with more substantial amounts of time.