How to Sew a Turtleneck T-shirt
In today’s article I bring you simple instructions for sewing a turtleneck t-shirt.
Pattern for women’s turtleneck (sizes 32 – 60) is available here:
Recommended material:
Use thinner knits (elastic materials) with a high content of elastic fibers (elastane, lycra, spandex, etc.). For example:
- Cotton or viscose knits
- French Terry
Specific examples:
- Viscose knits (many different colors) Those are very thin – great for autumn turtleneck / turtleneck to wear with shirt or blouse. You can go with smaller size of the pattern (if you are between two sizes) thanks to the high elasticity of viscose knits.
- French Terry (many different colors) Thicker stretchy fabrics – great for winter turtleneck. The elasticity is close to the limit, so if you are hesitating between two sizes, choose a larger one in this case.
- Modal (many different colors) Modal is great for close-fitting clothes, but it’s a bit thicker than standard viscose knit – great choice if you aren’t particularly fond of very thin materials.
- Merino / bamboo knits, finerib knits – each manufacturer operates with different material parameters, so it is important to check the elasticity of your material with a simple test (you will receive more information with the pattern).
Choose fabrics with the weight (grammage) below 230g/m2.
How to sew women’s turtleneck t-shirt
Suggestion:
I’ve used an overlock to sew my turtleneck, but if you only have a regular sewing machine, then it doesn’t matter at all. Just follow few rules described in this article:
Sewing knits on regular sewing machine – 4 steps to success
Cuts preparation
According to the paper pattern prepare:
- 1x front piece (folded fabric cut)
- 1x back piece (folded fabric cut)
- 1x turtleneck collar (folded fabric cut)
- 2x sleeve piece
- 2x bottom hem
- 2x sleeve hem
Sewing
Lay the front piece over the back piece (face side to face side) and pin both shoulder seams.
Sew shoulder seams and press seam allowances towards the back piece.
Fold collar in half (face side in) along its original fold and sew sides opposite the fold.
Fold / roll the collar in half (face side out) to form its final shape.
And pin it to the neck opening. Seam on the collar should be aligned with the centerline of the back piece.
Sew the collar to the neck opening. Pull free ends of thread chain under the loops when sewing on the overlock.
Spread one of the open armholes on the table…
…and pin one of the sleeves to it. Use marks on the paper pattern to position the sleeve correctly.
Sew the sleeve to the torso.
Sew the other sleeve in the same way. Next pin the side seam and the sleeve seam and sew them in one go.
Do the same on the other side of your shirt.
Now is the time to prepare hems. Lay bottom hem pieces on each other (face side to face side) and pin their side seams. Fold sleeve hems in half and pin the seams opposite the folds.
Sew previously pinned seams on the hem pieces.
Fold / roll the hem pieces in half (face sides out).
Pin the bottom hem to the bottom edge of your T-shirt.
And sleeve hems to the sleeves.
Sew the hems to the T-shirt. Pull free ends of the thread chains under the loops when sewing on the overlock.
Your new turtleneck is ready!
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Amazing work!
Tee turtlenecks are the best basic!