Finished projects

A Salmon Plantain

RED

Mmmm Salmon Plantain… it sounds like a tasty dish, doesn’t it? Well, sorry to the folks who were directed to this page while looking for dinner ideas because I’m talking about a t-shirt!

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I’ve had this t-shirt in my mental sewing queue for the longest time in order to bust some of my fabric stash. I finally got around to it because I wanted to make a t-shirt for myself and my mother-in-law for our upcoming Disney World vacation, and I wanted to test the fit of a different size than I originally made for my first Deer and Doe Plantain tee.

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I used a super-soft salmon with yellow polka-dotted knit fabric. I bought this fabric about 4 years ago and originally made a summer pajama set out of it. I still wear the heck out of those pajamas because I love the fabric and the color so much. I thought the Plantain would be a good match for this fabric, so there you go!

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I sewed a size 40 on top, grading to a 42 at the waist through the hips. My first Plantain was a size 38 to 42, but the shoulders and neck pulled a bit. I assumed this was because it was too tight and I was right! This shirt is made to be fitted at the shoulders and bust area, but I think my football-player shoulders are a little larger than what the pattern is drafted for. I used the recommended 5/8″ seam allowance for the shoulder and neck area, but then sewed a 3/8″ seam allowance down the side seams. It’s still a little more snug on top than I wanted, but you live and learn, right?

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I also forgot to add an extra inch or two (my usual pattern tweak), so the shirt came out shorter than I’m usually comfortable with. With the help of DD, a lace trim from my stash was chosen and added as an afterthought.

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The lace doesn’t stretch like the t-shirt fabric, but after pressing the heck out of it, it lays pretty well. I absolutely love how it came out and I’m thinking of adding lace accents to more clothing in the future. Lace femmes it up a bit and adds an interesting design feature.

I’ve already completed the Plantains for our Disney World trip, but that will have to wait until late October to share. Sorry, but my MIL still hasn’t seen the finished product and I don’t want to ruin the surprise. 😉

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So tell me, have you “fancied” up a plain t-shirt lately? I’d love to hear of other ways to turn a basic tee into something a little more special!

-RED

17 thoughts on “A Salmon Plantain”

  6. I love the lace touch! Is there anything that lace cannot ennoble? That fabric looks so incredibly soft! I’m always into adding blockprinting to plain fabric or hacking my TNT t-shirt pattern to add design details. I have a Pinterest board dedicated to t-shirt pattern hacking dreams…if I only sewed t-shirts from the ideas contained on that board, I think I’d have enough material to keep me sewing until about age 85 at this point!

    I can’t wait to see your Ariel shirt!

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    1. This fabric IS soft! This will definitely get a lot of wear. I have a few RTW t-shirts that need some refashioning, but making them from scratch is so much more fun in my opinion.

      Oh, the joys of Pinterest! I always forget I have some great ideas on my boards. 🙂

      Ooh Ariel will be revealed on October 16th! Woohoo! I hope she lives up to the hype. 😉

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