Neuroscientist + Curious Mind + Passionate Maker
This project began in the summer of 2023, and by January 2024, the first draft of this manual was complete. However, as life often does, unexpected challenges delayed its progress. Over the past year, I’ve steadily refined and improved the draft, and now it feels ready to share with the world. One of my original... Continue Reading →
"The secret of getting started is breaking your complex, overwhelming tasks into small manageable tasks, and then starting on the first one." - Author Unknown I knew making a larger backpack was going to involve taking the principles I learned from my first pack (here, here, and here) and the concepts from the lumbar pack... Continue Reading →
In May of 2024, I completed a whole series on how to fit a shirt. I broke the process into manageable steps starting with the shoulders and slowly working down to the hem, section by section. At the time, I tried this new fitting approach using the Elbe Textiles Sage Tee pattern. Click here to... Continue Reading →
In my last blog post, I compared the men’s and women’s Mélange sweater patterns. I am doing the same here, since I found the differences between the two versions of the Storm sweater equally intriguing. I have included figures this time, so hopefully the comparison is even easier to understand, especially for those who do... Continue Reading →
Last year I completed the Melange sweater for Ryan and I just completed the Storm sweater for myself. I never blogged about the Melange sweater, so I'm playing catch up. I made Ryan's sweater using the women's version, but after the fact I purchased the men's version, because I've been curious what makes the patterns... Continue Reading →
This image was generated with AI I quietly dropped my quarterly recaps this year, since my regular posts kept getting longer and more detailed. So instead of forcing quarterly recaps, I let it go and saved the reflection for the end of the year. I made fewer things in 2025, but the projects I did... Continue Reading →
AI Generated Mockup I've been printing my own iron-on direct-to-film (DTF) labels since 2022. This will be my fifth year making clothing labels, and I get so much joy seeing them in my garments, each one stamped with the year and a silly quote or saying. I have been using Transfer Superstars to print my... Continue Reading →
I’m forever on the hunt for relaxed pants, and unfortunately I do sometimes have to leave my house in something other than joggers. My lower pelvis and right leg like to get cranky and swell from time to time, so restrictive clothing just isn’t something I’m willing to force myself into. Comfort over fashion, always!... Continue Reading →
This blog post is chockablock with information. Here is what you will find inside: I put the Winslet’s Tracy Tank through five muslin test versions to get the fit right, and uncovered a pattern with sizing inconsistencies, missing binding measurements, confusing ease allowances, and a few details that made me wonder if the company is... Continue Reading →
The mileage I put my workout clothes through is unreal. Sweat, dirt, more sweat, lots of movement, frequent washings—and yet they still hold up. But it’s time to add to my closet. I wanted to branch out with new styles that weren’t just plain leggings hacked into biker shorts. Back in July, I started exploring... Continue Reading →
Ryan has desperately needed new jeans for several years now—not because his jeans didn't fit or were too old, but because even after prewashing the fabric, they still shrank significantly lengthwise over time. Annoyingly, his jeans ended up several inches too short and looked ridiculous. Unfortunately, I didn't have enough fabric leftover to add panels... Continue Reading →
It's been nearly three years since I talked about adding a front dart to Ryan's basic trouser block. At the time, it was a completely improvised solution—something I pieced together from studying bespoke trousers in James Bond films and trusting my instincts about what needed fixing. Since then, I've deepened my understanding of how fabric can... Continue Reading →
To the extent that we believe we can skip steps, avoid the process, magically gain power through political connections or easy formulas, or depend on our natural talents, we move against this grain and reverse our natural powers. We become slaves to time—as it passes, we grow weaker, less capable, trapped in some dead-end career.... Continue Reading →
