August always feels like it goes too fast, usually because it’t the first month that seems to slow down after I have several intensely busy months, and I can never quite get caught up on all of the things that I push off to deal with in August. I will be honest – I haven’t been feeling very motivated to do much this month, but despite that it seems like I’ve actually got quite a few sewing projects underway that I can hopefully work on more in the coming months.
Sewing Progress
It’s been an up and down month in terms of sewing, both in terms of output and energy to work on things at all. The first project I worked on was cloning a discontinued bra pattern for someone else. I used the Beverly Johnson method of cloning where you use pins to mark out the edges of the pieces and then create a pattern from the pinned out shapes. I will say that on the one hand this method worked better than I expected; the pattern pieces were pretty reasonable and actually went together to make a fairly respectable copy of the bra. On the other hand, despite wanting to clone an existing garment, the fit wasn’t ideal, and the materials and stretch percentages were not possible to replicate with what I had on hand, so it didn’t really turn out as well as I had hoped.
However, the pattern is really similar to the Pin-up Girls Ingrid pattern, so I decided to pivot to using that as a starting point instead. The first iteration has ultimately proved to still be not quite the right size, but I think we are dialing in on the right fit, so I’m hopeful the next version will be better.
For myself, I thought I was going to pick up where I’d left off on some other projects but I ended up distracting myself by fit testing some more of the Make Bra patterns – the Sew Comfy Bra and the Ulla Sport Bra. I’ll do more in-depth pattern reviews of each after I make final versions, but spoiler alert: I really like both of them. The Sew Comfy Bra lives up to it’s name and the fit on the Ulla Sport was shockingly good right out of the package. I have some questions about how well the Ulla will actually hold up to actual sport activities, but I’m going to withhold judgement until I make a real version with better materials and stabilized straps and not just the cheap flimsy version I made only for the purpose of testing the fit.
Despite the fact that these samples have both been made hastily and from what I consider to be sacrifice-able materials, I still found myself reaching for them as the “lazy but comfy” option immediately after finishing the samples, so, that’s encouraging. I’ve pulled out materials to make better versions next month, so I expect I’ll be focused on making real versions of these patterns as my next projects.
Sewing Delays
No real delays this month other than lack of energy and spending a lot of time getting back into the swing of things.
Finished Projects
The only finished project this month was the cloned bra that became an Ingrid, and since I don’t always post finished things that I’ve made for others on the blog, no pictures of any finished projects this month.
WIPs & Upcoming Plans
Right now I really want to make some final versions of the Sew Comfy bra and the Ulla Sport Bra, along with some more DL02s. I’ve found myself really gravitating to wearing the new patterns because the fit is so good and they are really comfortable, and I’d really like to add some to my wardrobe. I’d also love more DL02s because they are the first thing I grab after the laundry is done, so clearly the pattern is a favorite. I do have a few other patterns I want to test out as well, but I’ll see how far I get with the existing plans before adding more for myself. I also need to make another version of the Ingrid in a different size next month, so that’s on my to-do list as well. I’m going to see how my energy levels are before I get to excited about other projects; I know work is going to pick up quite a bit, as well as other obligations, and I’ve generally felt like I just haven’t had energy to do as much as I’d like in August, so I’m just going to focus on the immediate projects I want to work on going into September, and if I have time for anything extra I’ll decide what I’m doing when I get there.
Doctor T Designs 