Pindot Melilot

This is my wearable muslin of the Deer and Doe Melilot blouse pattern! 

Mother's Day Plantains

I sent my mom some Mothers Day gifts: two 3/4 sleeve Deer & Doe Plantain t-shirts. She sent back photos!

Deer and Doe Brume

More skirts! Lots of skirts for me these days. I think my unjustified pants sewing fear, combined a plethora of cute skirt pattern releases is keeping me firmly in the skirt camp these days. Also, I am apparently into pairing skirts with this striped Bonnie top... maybe it's time to work on another one of those, too.

Plantain for Mom

Ah, Plantain... such a tried and true pattern for me. 

I made this one for my mom for her birthday since the previous version I made her fit her so well. It's actually made from this squiggly knit fabric I pilfered from her prodigious stash. I thought it was funny to make her a gift from it... sort of a re-gift, in a way.

Here's a (slightly blurry) photo she sent me of her wearing the top:

Happy Birthday, Martha!

Bruyere: A Wearable Muslin

Finally, my Deer and Doe Bruyere!

I've had my eye on the pattern since it was released, but only got it in my hot little hands earlier this week, just in time to squeak in under the wire for the sewalong.

Matchtastic: Stripey Plantain

After I made my matchy-matchy striped Skater dresses for my nieces' Christmas photo, my sister-in-law expressed an interest... nay, a demand*... for a companion piece for herself, in keeping with the candy cane/Where's Waldo theme.

Plantain Party! Plus Bonus Soleil Dress

More of Deer and Doe's Plantain t-shirts!  Not for me, though, this time... sharing the wealth!

Check out these hot ladies in the Plantains I made for them!  I made these months ago and sent them across the world, but weather and timing only cooperated for them to take photos in the Plantains this past weekend... totally worth the wait:

Bonus me-made in the photo is Z in the heart-y Soleil dress I made a few months ago:

I actually made the Soleil dress for her younger sister, but it fits Z this summer, so it's on loan to her.  Looks like she also helping her sister open birthday presents here:

Wearing Soleil for some playground action:

Ok, back to the Plantains: I made a short-sleeved version for Chuck made from slinky and sheer teal and grey burnout cotton jersey from Girl Charlee, which is no longer available in teal, but is available in summery lime and orange.  Watch out when using this stuff, though, as we ended up with turquoise fuzz on everything that came near it!. 

A three-quarters length sleeve version for Martha out of this funky cotton and rayon knit from Joann's Red Tag area...

Love this pattern!

Digital Datura

I'm on a Deer and Doe roll... the hits keep coming!  This is Deer and Doe's Datura blouse.  I love how the Deer and Doe patterns fit me right out of the envelope; no fiddling with bust darts or anything! 

The fabric is a crisp and light Alexander Henry cotton lawn, Dimitrios in blue, which I bought on sale at Hawthorne Threads last year.  It's a cool digital-esque print.  Not sure how to describe it, but the bursts of color are made up of tiny dots and dashes.

I didn't totally follow the directions for this top: I didn't line the yoke because the fabric is somewhat sheer and the pattern was showing through, so I used store-bought bias tape as a facing for the neckline and arms.  I sewed the buttons on the back placket without making buttonholes because I can't imagine I'm going to need to open it much.  Tim helped me pick the buttons- I was going to go with black, but he convinced me that these pearly teal guys were more fun.  

This pattern will be awesome as a color-blocked top, with a contrasting yoke.  I also want to try the cool triangle cut-out neckline at some point.  So many sewing plans, so little time!

Floral Sureau Dress

After my (many, many) successes with Deer and Doe's free Plantain pattern, I bit the bullet and ordered some more Deer and Doe patterns from their shop.  Their plan worked!  I am now a committed D&D customer.  I bought Sureau, Datura and Belladone, specifically. 

First up: Sureau!

I thought there were lots of similarities between the Sureau pattern and Megan Nielsen's Darling Ranges dress, but I was hoping that my Sureau wouldn't ultimately be balled up on the shelf out of frustration like my attempt at Darling Ranges.  I abandoned my Darling Ranges after some seriously wonky dart issues and haven't had the guts to tackle it again.  In contrast, the Sureau bodice fit right out of the envelope... win!  It's hard to tell in the print fabric, but here's a zoom-in on the bodice front and back:

I didn't make any changes to the pattern with the exception of lengthening the skirt slightly (2", because I am an old lady) and using a shorter zipper (9", because that's all I had in the appropriate color).  Also, I stay-stitched the neckline at the beginning to make sure it didn't get bent out of shape (good thinking, Meg, pat on the back.). I left off the bodice buttons because I was concerned that it was veering in the Little House on the Prairie direction, which nobody wants (ok, maybe somebody wants it, but not me).  The fabric is a lovely cotton floral from BelleBoo here in Bangkok.

I like it best with a belt:

I like this pattern a lot: the bodice is great and pretty flattering, methinks.  The sleeves may be a leeeetle baggy, but nothing terrible. I am already scheming about what other ways I can use this bodice since it fits so well!!  I wonder how it would look:

a) with short sleeves (this short sleeve version from the Nerdy Seamstress looks pretty awesome);

b) in a solid fabric to show off the bodice gathering details more;

c) as a peplum top (the pattern envelope has a drawing of a peplum top, but no "cut here for peplum" line or any instructions.... I wonder if I could substitute a more circle-skirt style peplum from another pattern, like Hawthorn or Vogue 8815?)

Plantain Sweater

This blog is quickly becoming a broken record, constantly repeating "Plantain... Plantain... Plantain..."  

Sorry I'm not sorry.

I (obviously) love Deer and Doe's Plantain pattern. Having made 3 short sleeved versions of it thus far, I thought I'd make a 3/4ths sleeve one, this time in a thin sweater knit I got at Joann's.  The color of the fabric is a little... um.. neutral as compared to most of my other clothes, but the heather grey is a good background for a colorful necklace or scarf, so it's cool.  Love Plantain!

 

Addicted to Plantains

My name is Meg and I am addicted to plantains.  More accurately, Plantains, Deer and Doe's perfect (and perfectly free!) t-shirt pattern. 

I realized my sleeve was flipped up for all of these photos... here, now you don't see it!

This is my third version of the Plantain (numbers 1 and 2), made with a super soft cotton jersey knit from Girl Charlee, this neon coral and heather gray mini stripe that I got during the shop's Black Friday sale.  I love seeing the differences in the final result depending on the fabric choice.  I lengthened the sleeve by about an inch, serged all the seams,  sewed the hems with my double-needle.  

Love it!

Deer and Doe Plantain in Neon Popcorn Knit

After my success with Deer and Doe's Plantain t-shirt pattern, I immediately cut and sewed another one out of some fun knit fabric that I bought on sale from Girl Charlee: cotton neon "popcorn" knit (sadly no longer available), which is basically a cream colored knit with little nubbins of fluorescent yellow, green, and orangey-pink... a fun non-neutral neutral.  Check out the up-close below, complete with cat hair:

I love this fabric, but it has a little bit more stretch in it than the green slub knit I used previously, which, sadly, resulted in a significantly larger t-shirt.  Sigh.  Look at this size difference! Sleeves and bodice much looser, shoulder seams sliding off my shoulders, neckline an inch or two lower.  Crazy!

I am hoping I can shrink it in a hot water wash, but man, what a difference a little stretch makes! Lesson learned!

Deer and Doe Plantain T-shirt

Another day, another free pattern!  This one is Plantain from a French pattern company, Deer and Doe.  I've had my eye on the Deer and Doe patterns for a while (particularly the Sureau dress and Datura blouse), but haven't pulled the trigger and bought any, mostly because their patterns are not downloadable and I wasn't keen on paying international shipping.  The free, downloadable Plantain pattern was the perfect test run, and now I am reconsidering my stance!

In short: this pattern rocks. Clearly designed for a woman with hips (yay!), the top flares out at the hem, which also helps disguise muffin top.  The neckline is great, too.  Love it!

Until this point, I was not entirely convinced that making my own t-shirts was really worth it.  It's been like Goldilocks and the Three Bears...  My first t-shirt, Megan Nielsen's Briar, was not the right style for my shape (I've never actually worn it in public).  My second, Grainline's Scout, was a bit shapeless (which works in the woven version, but not so much the knit version, although that hasn't stopped me from wearing it).  Plantain: juuuuuust right.  So right that I just lay the pattern pieces on top of my polka dot knit Scout and might convert it to a Plantain.  

 Made from some cotton slub knit from Joann.  The only changes I made to the pattern were lengthening the sleeves slightly (I used the line created by taping the PDF pattern pages together- I probably added an inch) and sewing the neckband on with a smaller seam allowance (probably only 1/4"-3/8" inch rather than 5/8").  Also, check out my sweet twin needle hem below.  I adore how professional it looks!

PS: After seeing this t-shirt, Tim was overcome with jealousy.  A peanut butter and jealousy sandwich craving that can only be sated with a Thread Theory Strathcona t-shirt.

PPS: This might be the first time I have completed a sew-along garment during the time allotted for the sew-along.  Winning!