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:
- Compare your body measurements to the ones in the table.
- 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 in my blog, so if you want to get the pattern to sew your Jane Tee, please, contact me through e-mail or Instagram direct messages. Write “Jane Pattern” as a subject for e-mails or a beginning of the DM message and state which size range you would like to have, and I will e-mail you a copy. I would love to have a little chat, so don’t hesitate to write.
Please, note that I will add your e-mail address to the booklet to personalize it. I will also keep track of all e-mail addresses and sent files in a table to see how many copies I have sent. I will not use your name for data storing—I need only the date, e-mail address & the size range chosen. Please, only apply for the pattern if you agree to these conditions.
At this moment, I am checking the mail once a day, Monday to Friday, and I am sending the files manually. So, please, be a little patient—I will reply to everyone as soon as possible.
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.
Terms of use
The Jane pattern package includes the pattern, the booklet and attachments, and it is released for personal use only. By any means, no part of this pattern, the booklet or attachments accompanying it can be reproduced or transmitted in any form. You cannot sell the pattern package in whole or in part in its digital or printed format. You cannot use the pattern, instructions or attachments for small-scale or mass garment production or contracting a third party to produce the items.
If your family or friends love your garment so much, they would like to sew one too, kindly refer them to my website—Dressed-in-a-dress.com—and my Instagram page—@kaia_meier—where they will get a copy of the pattern for their individual use while the design is still open for free access.
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 enough of talking; it is time to sew finally.
Let's have fun.
xoxo,
Kaia