Dos Plantains

My computer and camera seem to be having an on and off friendship lately and this was written when they definitely weren't speaking.  And we all know that a sewing blog + no pictures = no bueno.  The good news is that they've recently kissed and made up so yea photos!

I seem to be on a knits kick right now – with the exception of my most recent make, it’s been all knits all the time.  This time I’ve made Deer & Doe’s Plantain which is another free pattern.  Considering I seem to be a bit obsessed with this pattern line, there was no way I could skip this one.  Deer & Doe’s first PDF pattern, it includes options for short, ¾ or long sleeves plus super cute elbow patches.  Lucky you, this is a twofer post so you get to see how it looks in different fabrics.

I made my first version was way back from April or May and used a super drapey rayon jersey.  Not gonna lie, this was a pain to cut as the pattern is printed slightly off grain.  I debated which was more important, staying on grain or keeping the pattern lined up and figured it was a draw.  So I did a little bit of both and hoped for the best.  I.e. minimum twisting. I’m really glad my plan from the beginning was for short sleeves to avoid any awkward arm twisting.  Not 100% satisfied with my neck binding, but not enough to have another go at it.

The good news is that so far I haven’t noticed any twisting!  Even after going through the laundry several times!  At some point I do want to make another and not have to compromise on the grain situation.  If nothing else it’ll be more enjoyable to cut and make.

 

Version #2 is my more recent sporty version.  This time I went with a navy and white striped cotton/poly blend.  I know, poly… but I loved the stripe and chose to overlook its synthetic sins.  FYI, most of the poly seems s to be located in the white stripes.  I used more of my hoarded saved interlock scraps for the elbow patches on the ¾ length sleeves. 

 

A quick word on those elbow patches, the pattern is genius and shows the perfect placement.  Don’t be thrown off on the off-center pattern placement and pretend you know better.  As drafted they will fall smack dab over your elbows, although depending on arm length they may need to be adjusted up or down a bit.  I used a straight stitch to attach them and then ended up going back with a narrow zigzag right along the edge.

Initially I cut my band on the crossgrain but this jersey doesn’t have much stretch and it didn’t look that great.  Plus it didn’t look like I used a consistent stitching line.  So I ripped out the serging and debated if I could get a better result with a second try.  After deciding that was doubtful based on the fabric’s lack of stretch I remembered by previously mentioned interlock scraps that I used for the elbow patches would work perfectly.  After all, what is interlock other than baby ribbing?  So I recut the binding out of the interlock and attached it.  So if you ever have need ribbing and can’t find it in the right color, check out the interlocks.  As a bonus they tend to be softer than a lot of the interlocks I’ve come across.

Check out that smooth curve!

The result is sooooooo much better!  Even before any pressing it behaved and stayed nice and flat.  To keep up some consistency I trimmed some length off the sleeves and cut some bands out of the interlock.  I used the same measurement as the pattern piece but should’ve reduced the band length a bit.

 

I top stitched both neck and sleeves using navy thread with a wide stitch length and added this to my pile of shirts that needed the double needle treatment.  Which meant I got on a roll using white thread on two other shirts and forgot to switch to navy when hemming this one.  *sigh*

All in all I like both versions despite them coming out differently. This has a fair amount to do with the pattern as fleece is given as an option to use although it’s suggested you size up. While I don’t see myself succumbing to the siren song of the fleece half of most chain fabric stores I can totally see this in a cozy sweater knit come winter.  If you’re new to knits or want to see what all the hype about Deer & Doe is about, the Plantain is a great introduction.  Plus I’m a fan of plantains and am now craving some plantain tostones.

P.S. Those are navy Grainline Maritime shorts I'm wearing with the stripes and will be covered in the next post!

Me Made May Week 2 & 3

Over half way done and I’m still going strong!  In this group I have my first repeat although it easily could be more.  One of the downsides of Me Made May is tracking what you wore each day when you have some new favorites freshly completed.  I know I’m not the only one who after finishing something feels the need to wear it all the time and figures if different people see you wear it than its ok to wear it a couple days in a row.  However taking daily photos makes this glaringly obvious and probably a bit boring for viewers who aren’t me.  I’m attempting to exercise some restraint until June when I won’t have the evidence staring back at me.  It does help that I’m on a huge sewing kick (I even gleefully had a couple marathon tracing sessions which I normally avoid like the plague) with days getting both longer and warmer so I’ve had a number of new options.  I’ve always preferred my warm weather wardrobe and find so much more inspiration to sew all of the things.  Things would be a bit harder if we were all doing Me Made March like Zo originally did.

Day 5

Sewaholic Renfrew

This is my all-time favorite Renfrew.  It’s my favorite color (turquoise) and the rayon knit is super comfy.  Too bad the teeny, tiny 1/8” stripes photograph so terribly.

Day 6

Deer & Doe Plantain

In my quest for all things Deer & Doe I could hardly overlook Plantain, a free t-shirt pattern.  I bought this fabric specifically for the pattern and almost wish I hadn’t.  It’s printed slightly off grain so who knows what will happen after I wash it.  Regardless there will be more Plantains in my future.  Plus I wore this will sewing yet another D&D pattern: Chardon.

Day 7

Sewaholic Renfrew & Crescent

A Sewaholic twofer today!  Warm weather in Seattle means I got to bring out a favorite skirt from last summer.  In my mind few fabrics say summer quite like seersucker.  While I wore it with a Renfrew it might look better with a Nettie to better show off the pieced yoke.  And yet another project is added to the list…

Day 8

Deer & Doe Sureau

It was cold and rainy today and seemed very fall like so this plaid flannel 90’s throwback felt appropriate.  During my wardrobe rotation this was in my “needs to be cleaned before being put away for the season & yet not too dirty to wear” pile.  I can’t be the only one who has one of those, right?

Day 9

Built by Wendy: Rock the Boatneck

This was my first make from Built by Wendy’s book Sew U: Home Stretch and I’m not super in love with it.  There’s plenty of things I’d change for next time but am really fond of the navy & cream striped cotton knit.  One day I may finally get around to tweaking it a bit more (I seriously took the side seams in a ton!) but for now it works when I’m cleaning & moving stuff around.  Plus it worked for the Friday theme of blue.

Day 10

Sewaholic Renfrew & Colette Chantilly

Two makes to show today.  My school was having an open house in the evening so most of the day was spent rearranging rooms and setting everything up.  I just barely had time to go home, bake brownies & change into my Chantilly before heading back to school.  While setting up, everyone was trying to figure out what to wear and thinking it should probably be something we made.  A lot of people defaulted to black but I figured this was a great chance to rock some polka dots.  Plus I have shoes the perfectly match those dots!

Day 11

Kitschy Coo Lady Skater

Yet another to be blogged make!  Needless to say this pattern makes a perfect casual yet 100% pulled together dress that is easy to wear.  It worked out great for Mother’s Day when there were no set plans; I knew I was ready for anything wearing this.

 Day 12

Simplicity Leanne Marshall 1877

I made this dress last year in the early fall and only managed to wear it once before it got too cold.  So I was excited to wear it again after thinking about it all winter long.  It’s mostly orange ditzy floral printed linen and my favorite part just might be the origami like flounces on the shoulders.  I’m so glad I didn’t decide to toss them.

Day 13

Sewaholic Alma & Thurlow

Another all Sewaholic day.  This was a favorite combo last summer and was thrilled to finally wear it again.  The shorts went together pretty quickly and only took a little taking in to fit properly.  I think a few more pairs are needed this summer with front running ideas being grey chambray and polka dotted challis.  This is probably my perfect shorts pattern and four Almas may not be enough.

Day 14

Simplicity Cynthia Rowley OOP #?

This is actually the very first thing I used my serger on.  I wore it once, decided it might be a bit sheer in direct sunlight and it didn’t fit the best and has been taking up closet space ever since.  I wish the sleeves were a bit shorter and that I had a better belt to wear with it.  I like the contrast of the brown leather but it’s a little too big and there’s no way to make it smaller.  This may become a “just at home” dress.

 Day 15

Deer & Doe Chardon

This is my first try at the Chardon skirt and once again am pleased with the results of a Deer & Doe pattern.  Once again I can’t help but think a Nettie would be perfect for a skirt like this to really show off the waist.  I picked this shirt mainly based on footwear and don’t think it’s the best pairing but also not too bad either.  I seem to be lacking in tops to wear with skirts that hit at or just above the waist.  Everything I have just seems too bunchy after tucking in but when not seems to cover up the skirt design features.  I plan on making another version with the back bow and would hate to cover up that added cuteness.

Day 16

Deer & Doe Sureau

This Friday’s theme was: Too Pretty to Wear Pants, and it was the perfect time to debut my latest dress.  After a few minor alterations I think I have my perfect dress and yet another Deer & Doe win.  Something must be in the sewing air as I was making this the same time Oona was making her voile flyaway pants since we both brazenly chose not line them.  And I smile every time I think about it.

 Day 17

Project Runway

Some days you just have to ignore the sewing & other assorted crafting and clean.  And I’m talking real cleaning, not checking for stray threads or lint in your serger, but actual here’s my scrub brush & that is a toilet.  They type of thing I never enjoy the process of but always feel better about the results.  And this always seems like a good time to wear those makes that you just don’t wear for whatever reason.  With this dress I tried a new silhouette but don’t think it’s the most flattering for me.  I like photo #2 where I pulled it in at the waist creating some waist definition so much better but will likely keep this as a cleaning dress rather than go back and try and alter it.

 Day 18

Deer & Doe Plantain

My 1^st repeat & I fully admit I had to quick check out my previous photo to make sure I styled it differently.  This time I went more casual with straight leg jeans and Converse.  Wearing it again simply reminded me that I need to whip out a couple more versions.

I hope everyone is enjoying Me Made May and not feeling too stressed about keeping to their pledges!

Plaid Madness Thurlows

 



First off let me just say I wish I didn’t love plaid so much.  When it’s done well, plaid looks awesome.  But when it’s not, few things can look worse.  It’s right up there with truly unfortunate print placement.  This is when sewing OCD can be really good or really bad and you usually don’t know until after you’ve finished.  Of course checking out plaid RTW will usually make you feel better.

That said I really wanted a pair of plaid shorts!  So I went out and found some plaid seersucker that I thought would be super cute.  To up the ante I dug my Sewaholic Thurlow pattern out and decided it was time to try it out.  If I wanted to be easy on myself, I would’ve picked a solid fabric for my first try.  So much for that.

 

When dealing with plaid the cutting stage takes forever but it pays off.  While making these shorts I cut every piece in a single layer and kept the leg hems on the same stripe within the pattern.  I figured as long as the horizontal lines matched up I’d be better off since the vertical lines are broken up by the pockets.  In addition the fabric was a bit thin so I underlined everything as well.  I cut the welts and waistband on the bias to keep things interesting and to avoid having to match even more.  As a bonus the on grain underlining for these pieces will keep them from stretching out.
 



 

When you attach the pockets to the front legs they don’t lie completely flat to help you get your hands in them. I could drive myself insane trying to get them to match up but they never will.  So I just accepted close enough.

 



 

I’m pretty happy with my first attempt at welt pockets.  I basically went step by step, taking my time and when in doubt pressing everything with my iron.  Lladybird has a great post on how to do this as part of her Thurlow sewalong last year.

 

I really wanted to wear these on Sunday since it was the first true shorts weather of the season so I quickly finished the waistband and wore them all day without a button or pants hook and eye.  They stayed up just fine and were so comfortable!  Later I did finish them properly by ripping out waistband and switching out my bobbin thread to match the lining.
 



 

I ended up attaching and ripping out my beltloops multiple times.  The first time they were a bit crooked and the second I realized I forgot to switch out my bobbin thread again.  I thought about just leaving them but knew I’d keep thinking about them.  The perfectionist in me says I should've done the same with my serger thread but oh well,  I was feeling too lazy to do that much.

 

 



I wanted to make these a bit more casual so went with a visible jeans button instead.  Plus it meant I got to use a hammer which is always fun!  When turning up the cuffs and tacking them down I did make sure to align the plaid.



 

I see myself wearing these shorts a lot this summer – I’ve already gone through my closet to see how many shirts I have that go with them.  I see more pairs of Thurlows in my future!