I really like the (free) Deer and Doe Plantain tee.  And I really like the Cashmerette Concord tee.  But neither one is quite perfect.  Straight away let me acknowledge that my definition of ‘perfect’ does seem to change as fashions (and my body!) change.  So I’m really talking about perfect for me right now.  I thought that maybe I should compare the two patterns.

That’s the line drawing for the Concord.  I tend to make the scoop neck, ‘cropped’ version, grading out a size through the waist.

And that’s the Plantain.  I haven’t sewn the updated version but I doubt that it is much different.  Deer and Doe describe it as fitted at the shoulders and flaring at the hips. I grade it out through the waist and back in at the hips as well.

And that photo is my graded Concord and Plantain together. Remember, these are both tees that I really like. I was fascinated to see where the shapes of a ‘simple tee’ vary!  I decided to mash the body of the Plantain with the armscye, shoulders and neckline of the Concord.

I also needed to consider the sleeve. Obviously I’d need the Concord for the sleeve cap, to fit into the Concord armscye, but what about the width? In the end I blended between the two a little, to give just a smidge more room through the forearm.

I then sewed up the tee that I was wearing under the York pinafore a few blog posts ago. And it really did feel perfect! The shoulder and bust fit that I love of the Concord, with the skimming fit (it’s not flared on me as my belly takes the room) of the Plantain. Then I sewed up another! Also great! The fabric is quality viscose/lycra knit from The Cloth Shop, Ivanhoe. I made the neckband a little wider this time around too.

But I wasn’t finished yet! I’d bought some lovely rib merino knit from The Cloth Shop as well. Perfect for another mash!

Well, it was perfect once I remembered that it was a RIB knit.  Incredibly super stretchy! I had to unpick and shorten the neckband twice before I had an acceptable result.  So this one, although sewn from exactly the same pattern pieces as the other two tees, is a looser fit with a much more open neckline. So, is it a Plancord or a Contain tee?  Or a Conplancordtain?  Plancontaincord?  No matter what I call it, I reckon that I’ll keep on sewing it!