Where I am really picky with Plantain fit

Hello there!
Has autumn kicked in where you live? In Toulouse we are having some rainy days, and the sky is quite gloomy. I don't mind it, I've actually always loved this time of the year: it looks like everyone is getting cosier, the food is getting warmer, and a new working year has just started. Of course, if you are unemployed like me, this last part is untrue and a little sad, but that's another story. Let's focus on the good things, like my birthday that is approaching!
And let's focus on clothes, especially handmade clothes. Today I'm presenting another Tshirt, boring, I know, but right now I'm all about fundamentals.

It's a Plantain tshirt, a free pattern by Deer and Doe. I made it some months ago but never blogged. Then put it away during warmer weather, and now it looks about time to talk about it.

As you can see the fit is not perfect. I went for a size 46 (the biggest one), and added room to the waistline. It's a bit too large at the shoulders and underarms, and tight at the bust.

It has drag lines at the underarm which are visible even with the arms close to the body. The fit on the back is much better, except for too long shoulders. 

The long shoulders also cause too much length in the sleeves. I do like long and cosy sleeves, but in this case they are just a happy result of a shoulder accident. Next time I would like to make them on purpose.

The bust area is compressed. The full bust size is adequate to my measurement, but if I'm making this pattern again I'll have to make an FBA starting from one or two sizes down. I am so pleased to be able to notice these things now, with respect to the time I actually made the garment. When I made this tshirt I was so proud of myself, but I guess I was just concentrating on giving it a nice finishing with mocked double needle topstitching. I have to admit that Chéri was more accurate on the fit judgement: he doesn't know the correct sewing terms, but for sure he noticed that my ladies were not adequately represented, and complained a lot. He keeps on complaining every time he sees me with this tshirt. I guess you have to trust a guy's eye when it comes to bust fit.

The fabric is from Toto tissus in Toulouse, and it is a nice drapey cotton jersey. I think it has some viscose in it, because it is very thin but heavy, and the feel is of a very brushed and smooth fibre. The design is quite nice, too: pink florals on a plain background, with a digital pixelated appearance of the flowers. I now wish I had taken better pictures of it, more detailed and less overexposed. (Someone is in a critical mood this morning).

Well, after all these critics you may think I don't like this tshirt, or I never wear it. Truth is I adore it, because of the fabric, the finishing details and the long sleeves. I tend to wear it as much as I can, so maybe I'll have to make more tshirts, preferably with a better fit. If I'm overly critical with the fit it might be because I'm in overdose of The great British sewing bee. I had never watched it, and only recently caught up on all the episodes. They are much fun and instructive, and definitely made me want to go back to figure sketching, as I used to do several decades ago.

I leave you with the picture of the first leaf found on my balcony. Happy autumn everyone! 

Where I swoosh and blossom

Hello there.
I've these pictures ready since a few days, but I got hung up on Gossip Girl and did not write this post until now. I am as frivolous as that. And also I am quite addicted to TV series. Speaking of which, tonight the season 6 premiere of Dowton Abbey airs in UK. I'll watch it tomorrow, of course, looking for more vintage sewing inspiration.

Anyway, I want to present you a dress which I made last summer, then abandoned this summer and rediscovered a few days ago for the autumn chills.

It is a frankenpattern between Plantain tshirt by Deer and Doe (the archi-famous free tshirt pattern), and Lekala #5135 skirt pattern (also free). I downloaded and assembled both pdf's without any specific idea in mind.

The main inspiration for this dress came from the fabric itself. It is a jersey I bought by the kilos in Toto Tissus in Toulouse, just because I loved it, maybe two (or three?) years ago. At that time I had no sewing skills whatsoever, I didn't even know what a pattern was, neither did I own a sewing machine. I just liked the fabric and bought it knowing that the good idea would come.

The good idea came last summer, after the release of Plantain, and I decided to make one tshirt. When placing the pattern pieces over the fabric, I recalled I had this skirt pattern assembled and enough fabric for it, and decided to go for a dress. I had to play a bit with pattern positioning, but I think I nailed it. What I like most of this dress is the loud border print (what would you expect?) which contrasts with the tiny polka dots (again:what would you expect?). I am especially proud that I managed to cut the sleeves in the loud print, so that it all comes together and it looks sober and loud at the same time.

After taking this picture I cringed for the wonky neckline. I decided to publish it anyway as an inspiration for any reader who is just starting his/her sewing journey. I want to encourage him/her to go for it and dare a new challenge in each new garment. You will progress fast, and one year later you will notice how much your skills have improved, but still be proud of what you did before. I am very proud of this neckline indeed. I am pretty sure this dress was my first experience sewing knits, so I totally excuse one-year-ago-Sara for the neckline, and I beg for mercy one-year-from-now-Sara, she will know what for.

The skirt features four panels and it is designed for wovens. It worked just fine with this knit fabric, even though it is quite heavy. It is so heavy it drags all the dress downwards, resulting in being very ugly without any belt, but I have this simple elastic belt which seams to be a good match for this dress (and for many others).

One thing I don't like about this dress is Chéri's comment: he says that it makes me flat, which means my ladies are hidden somewhere, which means beowb-less. I don't agree, but then he made the same comment about another Plantain tshirt I made, so I guess he has something against that specific pattern. We'll talk about that later on this week, since I have already took the pictures of the other Plantain. (If, and only if, I manage to get out the Gossip Girl bandwagon).

Of course I needed to take a picture of that! Every time I wear this dress I feel happy because of its colours, and I feel pretty because of its feminine shape: I love how the skirt swooshes with my steps! Last year this dress even got me the compliments of my department head (the coldest guy on earth), who said I was fleurissante!

To conclude, I am not ready to give this dress to charity, despite its defects, and I am planning to wear it a little bit more with the sun of autumn in Toulouse.