Dr Crusher – Star Trek: The Next Generation

Made for: Dragon Con 2019

Background: Something I’ve wanted to do for years and finally did.

Journal Entries: Read more at my Dr Crusher tag

Patterns Used:
Bad Wolf Costumes’ TNG Uniform Pattern

Suit:
So as soon as I decided I wanted to do this, I bought the pattern listed above, and some jumbo black spandex online – and a shot in the dark at some teal spandex as well. The resources on the Bad Wolf Costumes’ site for this pattern/build were incredible! Definitely go check it out if you are wanting to build any kind of Star Trek uniform.

So the black jumbo spandex came and it was fine of course – standard stuff. Getting the teal spandex was a PAIN. IN. THE. BUTT. The first I bought off amazon and it was… ok. It could have been passable. But I decided it needed to be a hair darker and tried to dye it. However, I hadn’t dyed anything in our new house yet, and didn’t completely realize we were not set up for dyeing until I was half way through the process and running around like a chicken with its head cut off. The dye job ended up being pretty bad, very streaky, but it looked like I might have enough “clean” spots to be able to cut out my upper pattern pieces. So I did that, went to press them and… the iron caused a weird reaction and even my formerly “clean” pieces were now unusable.

So I went back to the exact same seller on amazon, hit “buy again” and figured this time I won’t mess with dyeing it since it was close. It arrived and was not even the same colour as the previous one. It was a green more like Troi’s dress. UGH. So I tried from another amazon seller and that one wasn’t even close – sent it back without even taking a photo. I came across some “teal” spandex on mood on clearance and bought 2 yards and somebody at mood needs to read up on what “teal” is because this arrived and was like, sky blue.

Finally got 2 yards off amazon that were kinda close and tried dyeing it again, this time making sure I was set up correctly and this time it came out ok. FINALLY time to actually start cutting stuff. LOL.

The pattern is on a really nice paper though there’s a LOT of sizes on each piece! I found it easiest to take a highlighter and trace my size line on each piece before cutting. Then using chalk I traced each piece onto my fabric to make cutting easier. For the teal sections, my dyed teal spandex was not as heavy as the jumbo spandex, so I backed it in a second layer of just generic blue spandex out of my stash. This was a tip I got from the reference materials on Bad Wolfs’ site, which was such a great resource.

Assembly went pretty smoothly, though I realized part of the way through that it was going to be too big. I should have sized down 2 sizes. I had to just kinda make due and take it up as I went by that point. Lesson learned for future uniforms. Another road bump was getting the invisible zipper installed; I think I tacked it in and ripped it out no less than 8 times. Just trying to get it in correctly with the seams lined up! It’s not perfect but once I got it like, 95% close I went with it. One of the reasons I had to take it back out after getting it totally in was because the back was too long – going back to the problem of the suit being too big. The zipper was rippling and bulging out because there was too much fabric “vertically.” I had to take the zipper out again and take up everything in the back and then reinstall it AGAIN. LOL.

I bought the piping for the collar and figured it was close enough… though once I got ready to install it I decided it wasn’t it threw it in a pot of dye. Glad I did because I got a really good match. For the collar closure, instead of hook and eyes, I instead installed small magnets so it just clips closed.

Jacket:
I bought a linen blend online and it arrived and thankfully looked great! I used a housecoat pattern slightly altered – I added a facing in the front and back collar, and seams in the back panel. All together pretty simple – until I tried it on and the sleeves were about 5 inches past my hands LMAO. I had to chop them off and rehem them. Not a huge problem but I’m glad I realized it before I got to the con!

Etc:
My badge and pips are from XScapes Props – I peeled the velcro off the badge and replaced it with a magnet, and sewed magnet into a hidden pocket on the inside of both my jacket and uniform – so I can easily move the badge between the uniform and the jacket without velcro showing.

Boots were from goodwill! My wig I bought on etsy – I dug and dug and dug trying to find an auburn wig I liked and this is what I settled on. My hairstylist gave it a trim for me and I curled and styled it a bit. In 2022, I restyled it into a tighter wave pattern for Dragoncon that year. My tricorder was 3d printed by my husband.

                       

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