Jane: Boxy Crewneck T-shirt. Free Sewing Pattern

Category: Patterns 01 June 21

Current status of the pattern: Free for release by request.

The Prologue

“From humble origins as an undergarment to mass-produced fast-fashion staple to highly collectible (and highly priced) commodity, the white T-shirt is a quintessential product of twentieth-century modernity and the ultimate sartorial and psychological blank canvas.”

Antonelli Paola, Millar Fisher Michelle. ITEMS: Is Fashion Modern?. New York: The Museum of Modern Art, 2017.

In its exhibition, the Museum of Modern Art included a white T-shirt into a list of 111 garments that massively influenced both fashion and the whole world during its history. The T-shirt—not necessarily a white one—is sharing top positions with denim jeans, and you might find one in almost every closet.

Once an undergarment, it is now a piece that no longer bears the stigma of shame and embarrassment if worn in public. These days we wear tees almost everywhere and for nearly every occasion: lazy morning at home, intensive workout at a gym, creative meeting at work, and even for the night out. So there’s no surprise the fashion market is bursting with options that vary in design, price and quality. Yet, even given such a broad field to choose from, sometimes we can’t find the perfect T-shirt: either the fit is not flattering, or the quality-price ratio doesn’t suit us.

For me, the predominance of thin fabrics on a T-shirt market was the main issue: they twist after wash, do not give structure to my shoulder line and get sudden ripples out of nowhere. Another thing that disappointed me was the narrow neckline bands that got folded and stretched out with a blink of an eye.

Being a person with a solid “I can sew that a hundred times better” policy, I didn’t need much time to decide whether I would sew a tee or not. Of course, I would; anyway, that perfect interlock piece was laying in my drawer for no other reason—it was waiting for its golden hour. Browsing through all of the same types but so different white tees on Pinterest, I quickly picked up the features that suited my idea and body in the most flattering way.

And just like this, I created the Jane Tee.

The design

Following the general fashion tendency for oversized looks, I decided to give a T-shirt a slightly boxy fit. This silhouette, together with the medium-weight fabric, would have a structured look, define the shoulder line properly and, as a bonus, it would make the arms look thinner.

To have a universal tee, I made it short enough to wear untucked with high-waisted jeans and no belly showing, if, let’s say, I had a good dinner, and long enough to tuck it in, if I want to emphasise the waistline.

To balance the silhouette and give the tee a high-quality look, I added deep hems and an excellent wide crew neckband.

I got unexpectedly excited about this tee, which is quite strange. I must say, by all means, I am not a tee person, or should I say I was not a tee person? Somehow Jane tee managed to steal my heart, and now I pair it with everything: jeans, kimonos, dresses and skirts. It would be pretty selfish to keep it entirely to myself, so I decided to release its pattern for free so that you could share my joy.

The Pattern

Quick Summary

• The Style: The structured silhouette defines the shoulder line nicely. The tee has a length suitable for wearing both ways: tucked in and untucked. Wide hems and a wide crew neckband balance the silhouette and give the tee a high-quality look.

• The Fabric: The pattern suggests using medium-weight knits such as jersey & double jersey. The fabric should contain natural fibres mostly.
• The Sewing process: The best way to sew the tee is to use a combination of an overlock and a conventional sewing machine. The pattern pieces have seam allowances appropriate for sewing with an overlock machine. The sewing process is suitable for a confident beginner level.

The size range

The pattern comes in EU sizes 32–42. In terms of a free pattern release, these sizes are provided in three ranges: 32–36, 36–40, 38–42. Each of the ranges contains three sizes, which will be sufficient for between-sizes pattern adjustments. One applicant can request one size range only. Below you can check the size, yardage & finished garment charts in both metric and imperial units.

To choose the right size for the pattern:

1. Compare your body measurements to the ones in the table.
2. Locate the column of numbers that most closely matches your measurements.

Always choose a T-shirt pattern by bust size.

In addition, you can look through the “Finished Garment Charts”—they will give you information about the garment’s ease. Just subtract the size-chart body measurement from the corresponding garment’s one, and you will learn how the garment is supposed to fit. Depending on personal preferences, you might even want to go a size up if the fit seems too tight or down if it is too loose.

If your measurements differ from the sizing chart, you’ll need to adjust the pattern. For example, you may create an in-between size, blend the sizes, add extra-wide seam allowances or lengthen or shorten the pattern. If you have never done this before, don’t worry—I have made an illustrated tutorial on Basic Sewing Pattern Adjustments especially for you.

The Pattern Package

I spent quite some time figuring out what and how and made this gorgeous T-shirt package for you. So let’s see what is inside of it.

• The pattern package includes the pattern, the booklet & attachments that will help you take measurements properly & will explain how to read the pattern symbols.
• The pattern pieces are divided into separate .pdf files to ensure comfortable printing and taping. In each file, there is a pattern piece or a group of them. The pattern pieces lie in home printer-friendly tile layouts, which also have a layers feature. Each tile has a size appropriate for printing on either A4 or US Letter (8.5″ × 11″) size paper. Also, there are tiny scale rulers that will help you make sure the printing scale is correct.

• In the booklet, size, yardage and finished garment charts will help you figure out which size to print. Pattern piece inventory will give you a quick overview of the pieces & notches. Pages devoted to home printing will explain how to do it smoothly. The detailed text description will guide you through the sewing process from the first stitch to the last.
• As a bonus, here is an illustrated tutorial that in even more detail explains how to sew a crew neckband to your tee.

You can choose to print the whole instruction and attachments or print the pattern only and read the instruction from your screen. This way, you will easily access attachments, cross-reference links and external hyperlinks, which lead to supplementary blog posts or social media pages. In addition, you can click on headings in the table of contents, and you will land on the corresponding page inside the instruction. Also, you will be able to enlarge the illustrations to see even more details.

How to get the pattern

At this moment, there’s no subscription or shop feature on my blog, so if you’d like to sew your own Jane Tee, you can request the pattern by contacting me via email or direct messages on Instagram.

Steps to Request the Pattern

1. E-mail me or DM me on Instagram.
2. Write “Jane Pattern” as the email subject or at the start of your DM.
3. Let me know which size range you’d like to have. According to the pattern release conditions, you can only pick one for personal use.
4. If you are contacting me through the DMs, include your email address so I can forward you the files.

Once I receive your message, I’ll send you a personalized copy of the pattern via email. I’d love to hear from you, so don’t hesitate to write.

A Quick Note on Timing: I check messages once a day, Monday to Friday, and send patterns manually. Please be patient if it takes a little time for me to reply—I promise I’ll get back to everyone as soon as possible.

How I Handle Your Data

When you request the pattern, I will:

• Use your email address to send you the pattern and personalize the booklet.
• Store your email address, the date of your request, and the size range in a simple table to keep track of how many copies I’ve sent.
• Not store your name or any other personal information beyond your email address.

By contacting me to request the pattern, you consent to the collection and use of your email address and size range for these purposes.

I retain your email address for up to 5 years after fulfilling your pattern request, after which it will be securely deleted. Anonymous statistics about pattern sizes and request dates are retained indefinitely for internal analysis. Your email will never be shared with third parties or used for marketing purposes unless you’ve explicitly asked me to. If you would like your data to be deleted sooner, just let me know.

Terms & Conditions

Before we dive into this whirlpool of joy and inspiration, there is an important thing that I need to mention—terms of use. Even if the pattern is free, I work hard and spend lots of hours writing, illustrating and combining content in the best way possible. So I release it under certain conditions. By applying for the design and receiving it, you kindly agree to those terms and conditions. You can read them below; also, you can find them on the first pages of the booklet.

Please, note that the design will be free for a limited time only; at some point, I might want to refurbish it, add content and make the fully illustrated booklet. We will see how it goes.

Now, I believe enough has been said, and it is time to sew finally.

#free pattern #pattern overview

Let's have fun.

xoxo,

Kaia