How to make a woven-fabric t-shirt

1. Materials & tools

Materials (one shirt, size M)

• Outer (linen, cotton lawn, double gauze or any woven) — about 110 cm wide × 180 cm (43 × 71 in)
• Lightweight fusible interfacing — about 10 × 20 cm to reinforce the back opening
• Button, about 1 cm — 1
• Sewing thread to match

Tools

• Sewing machine (or needle and thread)
• Fabric marker or pencil
• Ruler and scissors
• Iron
• Pins or clips

2. Make the pattern (auto-generated in Katagami)

With the Katagami pattern tool, you just enter the finished size and it drafts a seam-allowance-included pattern, tiled to print at actual size on Letter or A4.

1. Open the tool
   Open the pattern tool and choose “Adult clothes” → “Woven-fabric T-shirt” from the tabs at the top.
2. Enter the size
   Enter the bust, length, shoulder width, sleeve length, cuff width, neckline width (one side), front neckline depth, back opening length and ease. Presets cover S, M, L and XL. The fabric does not stretch, so do not reduce the ease below the default 16 cm.
3. Set the seam allowance
   Use the slider at the bottom (beginners: 1.0–1.5 cm / about 3/8–5/8 in).
4. Print
   Press “Print (actual size)”, then in the print dialog set Scale = 100% and turn “Fit to page” OFF. Check the 50 mm calibration box on the first guide sheet with a ruler.

3. Cutting the fabric

1. Trace the pattern
   Lay the pattern on the wrong side of the fabric and trace both the cutting line and the finished line. Front and back are both cut on the fold at center.
2. Cut the pieces
   One front and one back, each on the fold; two sleeves; one bias strip for the neckline. Cut the bias strip at a true 45 degrees to the grain.
3. Transfer the notches
   Mark the sleeve-cap notch, the armhole notches, and above all the notch on the back that marks the end of the back opening — that is how far you cut down.
4. Interface the back opening
   Fuse a 10 × 20 cm piece of lightweight interfacing around center back at the opening. It stops the cut edges fraying.

4. Sewing

4-1. Make the back opening

1. Cut straight down center back, from the top edge to the notch.
2. Turn the cut edges under twice, narrowly (5 mm then 5 mm), and stitch. The fabric gets very narrow at the bottom of the slit, so go slowly.
3. Backstitch about 1 cm across the bottom of the slit. That is the point that tears.
4. At the top of one side, either catch in a 7 cm loop of self-fabric cord for the button, or work a buttonhole.

4-2. Sew the shoulders

1. Place front and back right sides together and sew the shoulder seams.
2. Overlock or zigzag the allowances and press them towards the back.

4-3. Bind the neckline

1. Lay the bias strip along the neckline, right sides together, and sew from one edge of the back opening to the other. Fold 1 cm under at each end before you start.
2. Press the strip towards the allowance, turn it to the inside and topstitch.
3. Do not pull the strip through the tight curves. Stretching it shrinks the neckline, and then your head really will not go through.

4-4. Set the sleeves

1. Match the sleeve-cap notch to the shoulder seam and set each sleeve into the armhole, right sides together.
2. Woven fabric will not ease, so where there is a lot of fullness run a gathering stitch first and draw it up slightly.
3. Finish the allowances and press them towards the body.

4-5. Sew the sides and underarms

1. Place front and back right sides together and sew in one pass from the cuff down to the hem. Repeat on the other side.
2. Finish the side allowances.

4-6. Hem, and add the button

1. Turn each cuff under 1 cm then 2 cm and stitch.
2. Hem the same way.
3. Sew the button to the top of the back opening and it is done.

✏️ Almost everything that goes wrong with a woven T-shirt goes wrong at the neckline — it does not stretch, so if it will not go on there is no rescue. Finish the neckline binding before you sew the body, and try it over your head once. If it will not pass, lengthening the back opening by 2–3 cm fixes it. Discover it after the shirt is finished and you have to unpick the neckline to do the same thing.

5. Tips & variations

• Choosing fabric: linen, cotton lawn, double gauze, chambray. Anything very fine will let the neckline go limp, so with lawn also fuse a narrow strip of interfacing along the neckline.
• How it differs from the jersey T-shirt: same garment, about 4 cm more ease. That extra is doing the job the stretch would otherwise do — take it away and you cannot lift your arms.
• No button at all: at 15 cm or more the opening lets your head through unfastened. If you are going to leave it open, bind the edges with self-fabric bias for a neater finish.
• A wider neckline: increasing the neckline width lets you shorten the opening. Above about 9.5 cm per side it may go on with no opening at all — measure round your head and check.
• Long sleeves: a sleeve length around 50 cm gives a full-length sleeve. Leave the cuff as a plain double-fold hem rather than adding elastic; it suits linen better.