A Plantain Tee Hack – tunic-ifying

I kinda went on a Plantain Tee hack rampage.  I made six different versions of Plantain tees with six different variations. It was obsessive and all-consuming and fantastic. When I wasn’t teaching or on email, I was either dreaming about or making a Plantain Tee hack.  I even had a moment when I thought to myself….”all I might ever need to wear can be made out of a Plantain Tee!” then I remembered about bras and underwear and sweaters and jeans.  But still, if you discount undergarments and think only about warm weather clothing, I might still be onto something.

The Plantain Tee is a free pdf pattern from the French designer Deer and Doe and it’s got a great scoop neck, easy construction and gosh-darn-it, it fits me well! I got the idea for a million different variations while I was teaching my Plantain Tee class at Rock Paper Scissors (btw, local friends, they are having a big birthday bash this Saturday complete with 25% off sale!) . My students and I were talking about all the things we could do with the pattern and one student lengthened hers and I got excited to play around and make a whole bunch. I got excited to try out all the ideas.  Not just dream but do!  Also, with the hot weather we’ve been having I knew that I would wear a tee and paying careful attention to making things I will actually wear helps me stick to my Nothing New Project goals.  (Thanks to so many of you, by the way, for your thoughtful comments here, by email and in person even about the project. I’m excited!) 

To make the tee tunic-length, I measured how much length I wanted to add based on the fit of my standard Plantain tee.  Then, because the t-shirt has a natural flare at the waist, I was able to simply add that measurement in an a-line shape along the pattern’s hem.  I hemmed the tunic with a twin needle and did the same at the arms as well.  The fabric is a fun knit from Wanderlust that I ordered ages ago.  It’s quite a bit bolder than my normal style but I really like it.

I can also imagine making this in some solid colors, that would make them really accessible for everyday wear.  See, this is how the rampage started!! One idea only leads to another.  I’m going to be sharing all of my plantain tee hacks in the next several days.  I stopped at six versions but I could have kept going.  To be completely honest, I stopped making Plantain hacks because I just couldn’t sew another twin needle stitch! It’s not that they are so difficult.  it’s just that hemming is always the final step and something about being so close to done but not quite done tips me over the edge!

p.s. Are you wondering what fascinating thing I am looking at on the ground? Nothing.  It’s just real awkward sometimes taking pictures of myself and the ground doesn’t judge quite as much as the camera does. 🙂