Doctor T Designs

Despite having an extra day this year, February has flown by and I honestly don’t know where most of the time has gone. In terms of sewing, this hasn’t been the most productive month for me. I spent a long time recovering from getting sick at the end of January, and my energy levels have been dragging this month. It felt like every time I did something I spent twice as long recovering from my efforts as I should, but I’m finally feeling like I am getting back into the swing of things now that the entire month has passed. It didn’t result in much sewing, but I did manage to do a few things here and there.

Sewing Progress

The one post I did manage to get up this month was the sewing I did for my foam covered bra sets. Although I wrapped this all up in a single post, behind the scenes this felt like such a lengthy process. Everything got dragged out because of being sick, but I am happy I was able to work on things little by little to get these new bras documented and posted this month:

After I finished these, I didn’t really have the energy to start a new bra project (which probably shows how tired I’ve been – compared to other types of garments, sewing a bra is not a particularly long process for me), so I decided to turn my attention to working on updating some of my underwear patterns. I’ve had another upcoming blog post in draft mode for weeks now, because I’ve been trying to fix my boyshort pattern issues. Spoiler alert: I’m still working on tweaking the fit of a new pattern, but as a sneak peak, I’ve been working on using the Bravo Bottoms #2 as an alternative to my self-drafted patterns:

Another spoiler alert: I really like the Bravo Bottoms 2 so far. I definitely need to alter the pattern a decent amount to get my preferred fit, but in a fairly straightforward way. Hopefully I’ll have more details in a proper post soon.

Sewing Delays

Was there anything that wasn’t a sewing delay this month? I never really felt like I recovered from being sick last month (I’m still tired all the time, but I’m just sort of accepting it as the “new normal” for now). And as soon as I was “better” from the worst parts of being sick last month I had to jump back into things full swing at work and in the activities I volunteer with outside of work. I’m heading into the crazy busy part of my year (February-July are always nuts), so I’m trying to stay on top of everything. And there was a weekend where I got food poisoning (well… maybe accidental “mango-ing” is more accurate) and a flat tire on the same day, which didn’t help much with my sewing time this month either. All together it probably sounds like I haven’t been having a great time, but February has honestly been a bit of a roller coaster month, because despite these setbacks some great things have been starting too. Overall I haven’t had as much energy to sew this month, but I am hopeful that things are getting back on track and that it will open up a bit more time for me in March.

Finished Projects

This month I technically finished the foam bra sets and the first round of the Bravo Bottoms #2 pattern that I’m working on fitting, but not much else. I will say that I have been wearing the foam bras quite a bit, just to see how I feel about them. I noted in my post that I (shockingly) might prefer the support of stable fabric bras at this point, but I will also say that I’ve been wearing the foam on days where I’ve been out of the house for extended periods of time, and they have proven to be quite comfortable. So I do think I will sew more foam, but probably not as exclusively as I thought I would when I started this whole endeavor.

In other news, my sister did finish the Ruby bra we had started working on while she was visiting last month:

She used the band I drafted for her along with the cups from the Pin-up Girls Ruby bra, using a kit from B,Wear. This was her first time sewing foam and a gothic arch, so she learned a lot! We used a very high gothic arch so that she could wear it under the Mimi G. Simplicity 9778 dress she just finished, which has a cutout that tends to expose a bra with a normal band. She has reported that this bra does not have that issue. She has said that it is also super comfortable and that she is happy to have a bra with foam that actually fits!

WIPs & Upcoming Plans

As far as WIPs go, I want to do a second round of fitting with the Bravo Bottoms #2, and I want to eventually get back to making the Aries Bra, which I fit what feels like forever ago. I have all the supplies laid out, I just need to gather the energy to go full swing back into the sewing room. I also have a few crafting projects I’m working on for others; I definitely have a lot to get done in the sewing room soon.

For upcoming projects, most of what I have planned is somewhat revolving around the Bra Sewing Bee. I signed up for the conference this year, but I’ve been enjoying hanging out on the forums (which are already open), and I’m also realizing I will have most of my personal sewing time during the Beginner Bee and not as much during the regular Bee, so I added on the Beginner Bee content as well. I bought a few patterns that are going to be featured at the Bee this year, but I’m also looking forward to the Bee’s main theme, which is fitting bands. Even though I’ve been much happier with my self-drafted fitting band and self-sewn bras than I ever have with ready to wear, I still feel like I could do a bit more to improve the fit of my bras, so I’m really excited to see what the Bee has to offer this year. Because I’ve been thinking so much about fit lately, I’m planning a series of blog posts related to fit over the next month, so if you are interested in that, come back to the blog soon!