The pattern for women’s T-shirt with raglan sleeves & boat neck JACKIE + sewing instructions

Péťa  ·  11.8.2019  ·  6 minutes of reading

I’ve updated this older pattern for a T-shirt with raglan sleeves and a boat neck. It has a close-fitting silhouette and I also narrowed the sleeves and the neckline, so that the T-shirt won’t fall off the shoulders. You can get an updated version of this pattern here: Pattern for women’s T-shirt JACKIE.

Recommended material

The pattern works great with thinner elastic materials. Choose some kind of quality cotton knit with elastane or lycra. Try to avoid 100% cotton knits. They can get stretched out quite easily, so they are not suitable for women's clothing. I would use this type of knit for kid's pajamas (maybe). I have knits featured in this article from Důmlátek.cz. This store is huge, you can take a look at knits with polka dots or all knits with patterns, for example.

Different T-shirt variations

I’ve made this T-shirt with a small variation, compared to the original version (which has facings, instructions here: How to sew a T-shirt with raglan sleeves and neckline facing).

You can also take a look at sewing instructions for my other similar pattern here:

Women's T-shirt with raglan sleeves COMFY

I’ve finished the sleeves of this T-shirt with cuffs (wider stripes of knit) and its boat neck is finished in the simplest possible way.

How to sew the T-shirt

You can sew this T-shirt with a regular sewing machine (if you don’t have an overlock, which is an ideal choice). You might find this article useful if you are going to use a regular sewing machine:

Sleeve pieces preparation

Let’s modify the sleeve pattern piece first. Since I’ve finished the sleeves with the cuffs, I had to adjust the pattern a bit. I wanted to make the cuffs 5 cm long, so I had to shorten the sleeves by 5 cm (measured from the edge of the sleeve - seam allowance is not included).

The pattern for women's T-shirt JACKIE + Sewing instructions

I’ve marked the new length and cut the excess part of the sleeve.

The pattern for women's T-shirt JACKIE + Sewing instructions

Position the paper piece on the fabric. If you are using a pattern with seam allowances included (from individual sizes view folder), cut along the paper pattern and add a 1 cm seam allowance to the lower edge of the sleeve (cuff connection). If you are using a pattern without seam allowances (classic view - all sizes view folder), add the seam allowances around the entire pattern as usual.

The pattern for women's T-shirt JACKIE + Sewing instructions

Now is the time to prepare cuff pieces. Cut out two rectangles from your fabric (do not forget that it needs to be some kind of elastic fabric). Make cuffs narrower than the bottom of the sleeve. The difference should be about 2.5 cm when measured like this.

The pattern for women's T-shirt JACKIE + Sewing instructions

My cuff rectangles are 12 cm long. It’s 2 x 5 cm (desired length of my cuff) + 1 x 1 cm (seam allowance)

The pattern for women's T-shirt JACKIE + Sewing instructions

Raglan seams

Sleeve and cuff pieces are ready, so you can now work on raglan seams. Lay the sleeve pieces over the front piece (face side to face side) and pin the front raglan seams.

The pattern for women's T-shirt JACKIE + Sewing instructions

Sew both front raglan seams. Overlock stitch is usually 0.5 - 0.75 cm wide, so you have to cut off the excess part of the seam allowance (with the overlock) to sew along the correct seam line.

The pattern for women's T-shirt JACKIE + Sewing instructions

Do not forget to iron the pieces (and seam allowances) when sewing. Press the seam allowances of the front raglan seams towards the sleeve pieces. (Press the seam allowances towards the darker piece when using some kind of translucent fabric for sleeves/front piece)

The pattern for women's T-shirt JACKIE + Sewing instructions

Pin the back piece to one of the sleeve pieces (pin one of the back raglan seams). Sew this seam and work on the other back raglan seam in the same way. Do not forget to keep cutting off the excess part of the seam allowances with the overlock.

The pattern for women's T-shirt JACKIE + Sewing instructions

Press the seam allowances of the back raglan seams towards the sleeve pieces.

The pattern for women's T-shirt JACKIE + Sewing instructions

Torso

Pin the sleeve seam and the side seam - align “armpit” ends of the raglan seams nicely.

The pattern for women's T-shirt JACKIE + Sewing instructions

Sew sleeve seam and side seam in one go. Do the other side in the same way.

The pattern for women's T-shirt JACKIE + Sewing instructions

Cuffs

Fold the cuff pieces in half and sew their edges (to form the tunnels like this).

The pattern for women's T-shirt JACKIE + Sewing instructions

Use a small cut to mark half of the cuff pieces (opposite to the seam - on the fold).

The pattern for women's T-shirt JACKIE + Sewing instructions

I recommend marking the cuff pieces like this on both ends of the fold.

The pattern for women's T-shirt JACKIE + Sewing instructions

Mark the sleeves in the same way.

The pattern for women's T-shirt JACKIE + Sewing instructions

Fold (roll) the cuffs pieces (face side out) to form the “final” shape of the cuff. Marks are aligned.

The pattern for women's T-shirt JACKIE + Sewing instructions

And so are the ends of the cuff seam.

The pattern for women's T-shirt JACKIE + Sewing instructions

Turn the T-shirt sleeve inside out and insert the cuff inside the sleeve. The face side of the cuff is facing the face side of the sleeve. Align the seam of the cuff with the seam of the sleeve and pin them together. (Fold the seam allowances of the cuff and sleeve in the opposite directions.)

The pattern for women's T-shirt JACKIE + Sewing instructions

Now align and pin the marks.

The pattern for women's T-shirt JACKIE + Sewing instructions

Sew the cuff to the sleeve. I recommend sewing like this - inside the sleeve. It’s easier to hold the fabric layers in place this way.

The pattern for women's T-shirt JACKIE + Sewing instructions

Stretch the cuff slightly when sewing, so you can sew it in evenly.

The pattern for women's T-shirt JACKIE + Sewing instructions

Overlap the seams a bit - extend the seam about 1 - 2 cm beyond its starting point. Lift the foot and turn the fabric so you can “sew out” of the sleeve.

The pattern for women's T-shirt JACKIE + Sewing instructions

Then put the foot back and sew a bit to create the thread chain. You can make the seams inside the sleeve nicer this way.

The pattern for women's T-shirt JACKIE + Sewing instructions

Pull the thread chain under the loops with a blunt needle or hook.

The pattern for women's T-shirt JACKIE + Sewing instructions
The pattern for women's T-shirt JACKIE + Sewing instructions
The pattern for women's T-shirt JACKIE + Sewing instructions

Bottom hem

Clean the entire bottom edge of the T-shirt. Finish this seam the same way you finished the cuff seams. Pull the free end of the thread chain under the loops.

The pattern for women's T-shirt JACKIE + Sewing instructions

Fold the bottom hem to the reverse side of the T-shirt. The size of the fold depends on the desired size of the seam tab (I recommend making it 3 cm long). Iron the fold.

The pattern for women's T-shirt JACKIE + Sewing instructions

Sew through the hem along the entire circumference of the T-shirt. I recommend using a twin needle or some kind of elastic seam. Don’t forget to lower the lower thread (bobbin) tension and the foot pressure (if your sewing machine allows it). Start (and end) the seam in one of the side seams.

Pattern for women's T-shirt JACKIE + Sewing instructions

Neck opening

I’ve used the simplest method to do the neck opening hem. It's very quick and the results are usually great.

Clean the neck opening with the overlock. Start in one of the back raglan seams. Seam allowances of the raglan seams point to the sleeve pieces.

Pattern for women's T-shirt JACKIE + Sewing instructions

Pull the free end of the thread chain under the loops.

Pattern for women's T-shirt JACKIE + Sewing instructions

I recommend ironing the neck opening after the cleaning.

Pattern for women's T-shirt JACKIE + Sewing instructions

Fold the edge of the neck opening to the inside of the T-shirt and iron the fold.

Pattern for women's T-shirt JACKIE + Sewing instructions

Sew through the fold (with a twin needle or some type of flexible seam). Start (and end) the seam in one of the back raglan seams.

Pattern for women's T-shirt JACKIE + Sewing instructions

And that’s how you sew the T-shirt with raglan sleeves.

You can get this T-shirt pattern and a similar style dress pattern here:

If you have a moment, leave a comment about how you liked the skirt pattern and today's instructions below the article. Also, tell me what you would like to see next.

Have a nice day, Peťa ♥

Pattern for women's T-shirt JACKIE + Sewing instructions

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