Thursday, December 4, 2014

"Maternity" Plantain T-Shirt

I think I may have created the perfect shirt!

Deer and Doe Plantain

Whomp whomp, right? Hahaha. It does look pretty boring in photos. Sorry about that. But this t-shirt is SO soft and cozy that during my in-progress-fittings I almost couldn't take it back off to keep sewing it! And honestly, what's more versatile than a grey t-shirt?


This is the Deer & Doe Plantain pattern, which you can snag for free here. I've been doing a lot of browsing on Pinterest for maternity wear, and over and over again I saw plain grey and black t-shirts. After rifling through my stash, I realized I had enough yardage of my favorite fabric ever--this grey modal knit from Girl Charlee--to make a Plantain. There was some happy dancing involved, for sure! This is probably the softest fabric I've ever owned (you can see my previous make with it, here).

The side view shows that my 4 month pregnant belly is pulling the hem up in the front. I love this fabric so so much that I couldn't bear to make a true maternity shirt that wouldn't be worn for more than 6 months. Instead, I simply lengthened the Plantain 3". That gives me enough coverage and when I'm no longer pregnant I'll still have a great shirt. Win!

For reference, this is a size 36 (in my previous Plantains, in non-pregnant days, I usually graded to a 34 at the waistline) but with the highest neckline in the pattern. There were no lengthen/shorten lines so I added the 3" below the side seam notches. I also traced the pattern out to the longest hem, which is size 46. I used a 1/2" seam allowance on the sides, rather than 5/8". So, y'know, totally customized to me and one of a kind.


And bonus! For the elbow patches I used the scraps from one of my favorite prints, a neon feather jersey (leftover from this tunic). I've been hoarding these for ages.


Because of my fabric limitations, I cut the back in two instead of on the fold, so I have a seam there. I promise it's straight in real life, I'm just standing weird. Also because of fabric limits, I added cuffs to the sleeves instead of hemming.


I ADORE the cuffs. They keep the sleeves in place and keep me much warmer than a hem would. On the shirt hem I used my coverstitch machine, which was threaded with navy, and I was too lazy to change it.


I don't think you can even tell that it's navy. I considered adding a pocket to the front, but decided to leave it plain for maximum versatility. I can always add a chunky necklace or scarf.


If you haven't tried a Plantain yet, what are you waiting for?!?! It's very well-drafted (setting sleeves in flat with the serger is a breeze) and the flare at the hem is super flattering. I'm already itching for another in black modal.

2 comments:

  1. I think I prefer the cuffs over the just hemmed. Good idea on just adding to the length!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Looks great! I have made three (four?) Plantains so far, two of them long sleeved, and I also love the look of your cuffs way more than a hem!

    ReplyDelete

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