Doctor T Designs

I feel like April has been super crazy busy, but I’m happy that I was able to get some sewing done as part of that! This was the start of my busy season with non-work activities, and we’ve got a fair bit going on at work right now as well. But even with all of that, I was determined to get some sewing in, especially because I wanted to participate (as much as possible) in this year’s Bra Bee. I’m pretty happy with what I was able to get accomplished this month, in spite of all the (planned and unplanned) life randomness that seems to pop up in the spring.

Sewing Progress

It felt like I was doing a lot more sewing in March, but I think all of that was prep work for the projects I actually sewed at the start of April. I tried two new patterns (the Aries Bra and the Friday French Cut undies) and made another Sahaara bra as part of the beginner portion of the 2024 Bra Bee. It was really fun to be working on these patterns during the Bee and sewing along with the other members of the Hive community.

I also started working on some new underwire bra patterns as part of the fitting band class for the main Bee. I am testing out the Josey pattern from La Bella Coppia (left below) and the Lusamine by LilyPADesigns (right below). Shockingly, the Josey band fit perfectly, and the Lusamine band only needed very few adjustment to get a really good fit.

Next I’m moving on to the cups for these patterns! I have high hopes for the Josey – it has a very round shape and seems similar to the Willowdale pattern which I really like. The Lusamine cup is a very unique shape, but I’m willing to go on a journey with this pattern to test out the pattern and see how it fits:

One thing I did this month was order a clamp for my dressform. Now that I’m doing so many photos where I need to dress the bottom half, it’s a real pain to undo the dressform clamp that is hidden in the leg, and it’s been doing quite a number on the pole paint with taking it on and off so much. I bought a clamp with a squishy insert on Amazon and now I can just pull the form on and off without any struggle, and it always goes back to the correct height. It’s great!

I also took a bit of time to organize my random bra making supplies that I’ve been collecting over the past year. I’ve got my kits pretty well sorted, but I tend to pick up random bits when I find something in an interesting color or when I’ve got a project planned. Everything was living in the Box of Doom, but I’ve organized it all by color, so now I’ve got my supplies more easily available when I want to make something that doesn’t necessarily come in a pre-made kit. My bra making fabrics are still a complete mess, but we can just ignore that for now while we admire the small bit of color sorted goodness in my new bra supplies box:

I haven’t been able to do much sewing in the second half of the month as other things have been demanding my time, but I’m really happy with what I’ve managed to get done in the time that I’ve had!

Sewing Delays

This month has been a bit of a doozy. We needed some moderate house repairs done, so I had to completely move around everything I’d shoved in my sewing corner. Ultimately it’s probably a good thing because I’ve been needing to re-organize for quite a while, but it’s definitely been a bit disruptive to the flow of my sewing projects this month. I’ve sort of done the minimum viable product thing of having just enough space at the cutting table and just enough space at the sewing machine, and access to just enough supplies to make it work, but things are still sort of all over, and I’ll definitely be needing to put some significant time into getting it all back in order over the next few months. At least bra pieces are small… that’s really the only reason I’ve been getting any sewing done this month at all. I’ve also had some busy work days and my travel is ramping up, so I’m honestly a bit shocked how much sewing I got in this month.

Finished Projects

This month I finished the Aries Bra, the Friday French Cut undies, and another Sahaara Bra. The Aries isn’t really wearable, but the other two are better than I expected, and they all look great as a set!

WIPs & Upcoming Plans

Right now my two most immediate projects are the Josey and the Lusamine, which I’d like to finish by the end of the Bra Bee conference in mid-May. I also want to look at the fit on the Friday French Cuts and see if I can make something with a bit more coverage in the back but keep the same (really cute) fit in the front. I also had plans to work on the Odessa Corset top as part of the Bee, but I’m a bit distracted by the new Cashmerette Loftus bralette pattern, so I might see if I can sneak that pattern in as well. Right now I’m really enjoying testing new patterns, but after the Bee I might re-visit some of my previous pattern makes and see if I can fit them into the Josey or Lusamine bands. The new bands seem to fit better than my self-drafted band, and I’d be curious to test my previous cups in the new bands to see if I can get an even better fit than I already had. I also need to get my sewing space back in order, which won’t be a small feat either. And I still want to make some “real clothes” this year, so there’s plenty for me to be busy with over the next few months!