Free t-shirt patterns in the sewing world seem to be the universal greeting that says, “Come and get to know me!”  The French company, Deer and Doe, was a pattern company I wanted to get to know better. My decision was influenced by the fact that no one can stop talking about their latest release, the Passiflore dress, which is gorgeous. They offer the Plantain T-shirt free on their website (and in English) so I was quick to download and print out the PDF.

This is a super-quick make that I stitched up in an afternoon, mostly on the serger. It’s perfect for the 80-degree days we’ve been having in Portland.

It’s all about this print — it’s so bold that it’s kind of wearing me. It’s also all about these elbow patches! Eric pinned them while the sleeve piece was balanced on my arm.

They are in the right spot vertically, but too far to the inside of my arm. I probably should have followed the pattern piece, but I thought I knew better. With a little twist they are fine.

The fabric was a bargain knit I bought at Girl Charlee. And I mean bargain: $3.25/yard!

I bought four 2-yard prints at this price because I need t-shirts and I need practice sewing knits. This was a good opportunity to again use what I’ve learned about knit neckbands. 1) Mark exact halves on the neckband, 2) mark exact halves on the neck of the shirt, 3) match quarters and pin.

I didn’t use the neckband pattern piece because I find they are always too narrow. I cut a new neckband at 100% the size of the neck, as my fabric has almost no stretch. This was a little too big and there is some gaping in the neckband. Next time I will do about 93-95% and it will snap back a bit better.

Per the advice of Claire from Penguin and Pear Dressmaking, I hemmed the sleeves before sewing the arms and side seams. I find it so difficult to get those tiny tubes under the sewing machine if I have sewn the seams first. This is the solution. Hem first (with my walking foot and microtex needle) and then serge it up.

It’s such a beautiful summer day today. I’m going to take my Plantain Tee out to the picnic table and watch Eric BBQ some tri-tip.

Happy Christmas in July! -rp