T-Shirt & Top Sewing Patterns

Almost every wardrobe runs on tees, and almost nobody's are quite right off the peg: the body is too short, the neckline is too high, the sleeve lands somewhere unhelpful. A T-shirt pattern is the cheapest way to fix all that permanently, because once you've adjusted one to fit, every subsequent make comes out right. It's also a small enough project that getting it wrong costs you an afternoon rather than a fortnight.

Tessuti make up the largest share here, with Maison Fauve, The Assembly Line, Named, The Sewing Workshop, Cashmerette, Sew House Seven and Maven filling out the rest. The range runs from plain, boxy tees to layering vests and dressier tops, and there are men's designs alongside the women's, which is worth knowing if you're sewing for someone else. Cashmerette's patterns are drafted for a fuller figure with cup sizing built in.

Sewing with jersey and knits

The thing that puts people off knits is the fear that you need an overlocker. You don't. A standard machine handles jersey perfectly well if you use a ballpoint or stretch needle, which pushes between the loops rather than piercing them, and a stitch with some give in it: a narrow zigzag or a stretch stitch. A straight stitch will pop the first time the seam is stretched. A walking foot helps if the layers shift, and a spray of starch or a strip of tissue paper under the seam does much the same job for less money.

Necklines and hems

Necklines are where most tees are won or lost. Cut the neckband shorter than the opening, usually to a ratio the pattern specifies, then stretch it to fit as you sew, which is what makes it sit flat rather than gape. Hems benefit from a twin needle, which gives the two parallel rows you see on shop-bought tees and keeps the stretch. If you don't have one, a narrow zigzag does the job. Press as you go, and let the piece cool before you move it, as jersey stretches out of shape while it's warm.

Choosing fabric

Most of these patterns want a jersey or knit with a stated stretch percentage, and that number matters more than the fibre. A pattern drafted for a 40% stretch cotton jersey won't work in a stable interlock with barely any give, and the fit will pull. Cotton and cotton blends are the easiest to sew and the most forgiving; viscose and modal jerseys drape better but are slipperier to handle. Each pattern lists what it expects, and ordering a sample lets you check the weight and stretch before committing.

Related collections

For button-up styles and blouses, see shirt and blouse patterns, which is the collection you want if you're after a collar and a placket rather than a tee. There's also jersey and knit patterns, jersey fabric to make them up in, and the full sewing pattern range.