Completed Project: The Deer and Doe Plantain

Whaddup!  Ages ago there was a flurry of sewists all making the Deer and Doe Plantain, and it eventually came to my attention that this was a free pattern, and the style of tshirt that I like.

Deer and Doe Plantain

Now, anyone who knows me knows that I am a dresses gal.  I am rarely seen wearing anything other than a dress (unless we count pyjamas!).  So what business do I have making a tshirt, you might ask?  Well, I thought it would be handy for making pyjama tops…but also for my new hobby…running!

Check out those elbow patches!

I started running last July when a friend suggested it.  I thought she was mad.  My first reaction was ‘Oh my God you’ve gotta be kidding me I CAN NOT RUN!’.  I actually couldn’t run any more than about twenty metres without feeling like dying!  But I thought I’d give it a go, and with a sports bra and a pair of running shoes at the ready, we did our first ever run around the block.  It was 1.5km or thereabouts, and we had to stop and walk twice to get our breath back!

Neckline

We kept at it and since then we’ve come a long way…literally (groan!).  We now run 5.4km three times per week, and we’ve started to extend our runs a bit more to build up to 10k.

Aaaanyway….running in winter meant I needed more long sleeve tops, so this is where the Plantain comes in!  It was a breeze to sew, and I will definitely be making more of them.  I think it fits me better than my Sewaholic Renfrew, too, so it’s going to be my go-to t-shirt pattern!  Hurrah!

And now for some more running-related sewing: I’ve been making headbands with built-in ear warmers!  That’s right, you heard it here first 🙂  My friend who I run with bought a £2 fleece headband with ear flaps, and I immediately wanted one for myself because headbands keep stray bits of hair out of my face whilst running and also: EAR FLAPS KEEP MY EARS WARM!  But rather than go and spend £2 on this wondrous creation, why not make my own?

I drafted the pattern on a piece of kitchen roll (well, three pieces as I’ve got a freakishly big head) by using a really in-depth method I learnt on my pattern cutting course (NOT!) – wrapping the kitchen roll around my head and drawing the shape of a headband with ear flaps on it!

Professional-looking pattern cutting

I then evened this out and used it to cut some grey fleece from my scraps into the right shape, keeping the straight edge on the fold and simply serging the curved edge for a quick and dirty finish!  Simples!  Now get ready for some totes amazing photography…

The grey fleece headband. Oh and me looking totally babelike.

Then I made a pink leopard print one out of a hateful pair of Little Tweedie’s leggings which were destined for the charity shop.  I serged both edges of this one, in black because I was feeling lazy!

I like to call this my porno running headband.

And then….oh yes, then… I MADE A HEADBAND WITH EAR FLAPS TO MATCH MY NEW PLANTAIN TSHIRT!!!!  Oh yes I did.  I am *that* cool.  Seriously.

Best photo of me EVER

For this one I stitched the right sides together and then turned it out so that the stitching doesn’t show on the outside, but I think I actually prefer the first two versions with their visible serging, to be honest.

So, there you have it: my new hobby and its co-ordinating wardrobe.  To be continued…

PS. I’ve been threatening my friend that I will make us co-ordinating headbands to wear with our initials appliqued on.  Preferably in a completely hideous print or colour.

PPS. I now need to make running bows for my trainers a la Scruffy Badger!

PPPS.  The stripy jersey was from a swap last year – thank you, mysterious donor!  It makes me think of Fruit Salad sweets (I’m sure that won’t mean much to our international readers!).

Going now bye.