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The TARDIS ESP Dress

tardis esp 1

Allons-y, Whovians!

Or non-Whovians as it may be!  Yep, it’s another Decades Everyday ESP Dress!  This is definitely my go-to pattern when it comes to my TNT patterns.  It’s a quick and easy dress to make, that you can truly go from cutting to wearing in a day.   BTW, this pattern is now available in PDF format, so you can have it instantly and you don’t have to pay for shipping, which can be a huge expense if you live outside of the US.  Awesome, eh?!

Source: Decades of Style Patterns

Although I had seen this Doctor Who fabric at Joann’s, it was only available in a flannel, so I ignored it.  I’ve been really excited about the Doctor Who fabrics that have been out since last year, but none of them had me wanting to sew a dress with them.  It’s not only the designs, but the fabric itself.  It’s a rough quilting cotton which did get softer when I washed it and it has got better each time it’s been in the wash (I wear this dress at least once a week!).  I have purchased some dalek fabric to make curtains for my laundry room and another dalek/TARDIS fabric to recover my ironing board with.  I admire the fabrics and often consider them, but I always end up leaving the bolts behind.  That was, until Tasha bought this retro TARDIS print and made a fabulous skirt with it!  I located it Hancock’s (still available online, although they are sadly going out of business) and dropped by to pick it up.

tardis esp 2

I really love this fabric.  It has a retro 1960’s atomic design and the pairing of fuschia and navy with turquoise is just so wonderful.  I just need a fuschia belt to wear with it and it will be even more awesome.

My first thought was to make a skirt like Tasha, but as I already have a TARDIS skirt, I decided that I’d rather have a dress.  I have made a Doctor Who dress, with older Doctor Who fabric from the UK.  Both of the fabrics I used for my previous Whovian garments were fabrics that I found prior to the widespread release of the new Doctor Who licensed fabrics.  I have been meaning to remake the bodice on my old Doctor Who dress as I don’t like it, so perhaps saying so in this post will get me to.  I don’t know about you, but garments that need to be altered or mended are always on the bottom of my list….

tardis esp dress

TARDIS earrings! And excuse the cat hair on my fabric….

I’ve made the ESP pattern seven times now, so there really isn’t a whole lot to say about my construction details.  But if you’re new to my blog, I’ll give you the info on my modifications to this pattern.  I’ve graded this pattern up one size to the size 48″ bust (this pattern goes up to a size 46″ bust).  I’ve lowered the neckline, added length to the skirt and have done a swayback adjustment.  I haven’t done a full bicep adjustment on the raglan sleeves of this dress, but I did sew with a narrower seam allowance on the sleeves, which also meant that I had to adjust the neckline facings.  My skirt is also slightly less full than the intended design due to the narrower fabric, the direction of the design, and wanting to conserve fabric.

tardis esp back

Probably should have done some pattern matching on the back bodice… oh well….

I was in the middle of sewing some other garments when I cut out and made this dress.  This is the first time that I’ve sewn this pattern (or any other pattern) that I didn’t check the fit either on myself or on my dress form during the dressmaking process.  I assumed it would fit as I’ve sewn this pattern so many times and I was in a time crunch, so I just quickly sewed this up and wore it.  I was a little apprehensive about it as I always check the fit, but relieved that it did end up fitting exactly the way that I wanted it to.

I made this dress initially to wear to the inaugural Silicon Valley Comic Con in San Jose. We made it to the SVCC, but I fell ill and we sadly left.  I had been looking forward to this con since I first heard about it a year ago, so it was really a bummer.  As we live a few hours from the bay, we didn’t return.  Oh well, I wear this dress often, so it’s absolutely a dress that has not gone to waste.  I’ve been planning to make a dalek dress, so if I ever get my act together and sew it, I hope to wear it at our next local con this summer.

tardis esp 3

The Doctor and I wondering if that’s really a weeping angel and not a fairy

I’ve been following Gillian’s Better Picture Project and decided to try my hand at taking photos inside.  We have a lot of windows in our house, with very good lighting, so if you stand in the right spot and the sun is coming through the windows just right, pictures can turn out wonderfully. I’ve thought at length of good spots to take photos inside.  It’s a really good option for me when it may be too hot, raining, or too bright outside.  Once I get around to recovering my grandparent’s 70’s couches (in red!), I really think our living room is going to be an outstanding spot to take photos, as will our porch/sun room and upstairs guest room when both are finished being renovated/redecorated.  For now though, I’m using this spot in our bedroom.  I tested it out a few weeks ago and it was perfect in the afternoon, but this day the clouds were changing the lighting, so I’m not sure if it’s perfect on this day, but I did enjoy taking these photos regardless.  Plus, the Doctor thought it was a good idea, too. 🙂

Happy Sewing!

footer 2 redux

  • Dress:  Decades Everyday ESP Dress in Doctor Who quilting cotton, made by me
  • Belt:  Macy’s
  • Earrings:  BBC Doctor Who
  • Shoes:  Lifestride

Comments

  1. Awesome! Your garments always fit so well. It’s inspirational.

    I see those “licensed character” prints at JoAnn occasionally, and am always tempted to make something from them. Last time I was there, they had several Kentucky Derby branded prints. Which, to me, was such a random thing to put on a fabric. Especially here on the West Coast. What even IS the Kentucky Derby? (ha ha, we know what it is, but it is very much off our radar in this neck of the woods) But I like the idea of a print that combines horses and roses. Wouldn’t one of those prints make such a cute semi-ranch-style yoked button-down cowboy-ish shirt? Sort of ’40s cowboy style? Like with fringe. Yesss.

    • Thank you! I love to look at the licensed prints. There are so many cool ones, aren’t there? I never noticed the Kentucky Derby ones. That’s a little different, isn’t it? But horses and roses really are a great combo.

  2. Cute! Maybe I should use this as inspiration and make a dress from Wonder Woman fabric that I saw at Joanns.

  3. Super super love this! I really need to get on the stick and try this pattern someday, yours always look so lovely! I’ve been trying to figure out what to do with more Doctor Who themed fabrics… I’m thinking pocket bags are next on my list Secret inside TARDISes! 😉

    • Thank you, Tasha! As you can see, I love making this pattern. 🙂 TARDIS pocket bags sound awesome! It would be cool to use them for a purse or jacket lining, too. Oh, the possibilities!

  4. What a cute dress! I feel like you’ve singlehandedly made this pattern well-known… you wear it well! And I like your photo spot – nice even light bouncing around in there!

    • Thanks, Gillian! I think the pattern speaks for itself. 🙂 Noticing when the light is best is the most difficult part. It would be nice to have an indoor photo setup!

  5. The fabric is really great, Tanya! I find that I looooove novelty prints but sometimes the colours aren’t exactly…pleasing to the eyes, but the colours on yours looks great! (And I hear ya about mending…..I am forcing myself to do that as we speak before I start a new project…ugh)

    • I know what you mean about the colors. I think that most of the time I don’t purchase them because of that. Sometimes they are just a little out there, too….

  6. This is absolutely AWESOME. I love Doctor Who and that fabric is the biz. You look very glamorous and pin-up in it. Xx

  7. Goodness! That fabric (and the dress!) is to die for! Sometimes living in the bottom of beyond sucks. I swear if I ever get back to the States, I’m going to be paying excess baggage fees bringing back fabrics!

  8. this makes me want to use my walking dead fabric for the ESP dress. So very cool!

  9. So cute. I got that fabric online from an Etsy seller after seeing it on Gertie’s blog. I thin I’m going to make a shirtdress (one of the McCall ones) out of it.

  10. This is awesome! I don’t know why I haven’t made an ESP yet, I even have the pattern traced! Ugh, so lazy, but maybe this spring will finally be the time. In other news, I was at a new art installation in Santa Fe last weekend and they had a blue police box, which totally made me think of you since (if you can believe it) you are the only major dr. who fan I “know”! I meant to take a photo but totally forgot.

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Mrs. Hughes: A retro inspired, vintage garment sewing and plus-size dressmaking blog by Tanya Maile Hughes.