Sewing jersey is easy: I sew the My Girl t-shirt from Sewing Soon

The t-shirt is a wardrobe staple: short sleeves in summer, under a sweater in winter, long sleeves for mid-season... it accompanies us all year round.

So I decided to sew a few with patterns and others more basic that are easier to match.

I started looking for a pattern that could be adapted: I chose the my girl from sewing soon! I fell for this model that offers lots of options: round neck, mock neck, draped or wrap style!

I'll show you my 2 new t-shirts sewn this week with the serger!

Let's get started!

What is jersey and knit fabric?

Knit fabrics are knitted fabrics, unlike "warp and weft" fabrics which are woven like poplins. Knit fabric is therefore made like a wool sweater, the big difference being the diameter of the yarn which is much smaller. The fineness of the thin yarn allows for a very tight knitted fabric. As with knitting, knit fabrics have a right side and a wrong side. You will see small "V"s on the right side and small "U"s on the wrong side. Since the method of making defines knit fabric... you can have different fiber compositions to create this knitting: wool, cotton, viscose, linen, bamboo, silk... So, for example, you can find cotton jerseys, viscose jerseys...

Jersey is the most common knitted fabric and the easiest to work with when starting to sew knit fabrics. Jersey is a thin fabric that is perfect for making t-shirts, leggings, dresses and light blouses, children's and newborn clothes (bodysuits) but also underwear (boxers, panties...)...

How to sew jersey?

You can sew knit fabric in two ways for assembly:

- or with the serger (4-thread)
- either with the sewing machine taking care to use the stretch stitch.
For my part, I prefer to use the serger which allows very neat, almost professional finishes since it sews and finishes the edges in one pass. To sew knit fabric, you will need to use appropriate needles: jersey type or stretch type. These needles have a rounded tip that allows the needle to slide between the knit stitches without breaking or making holes in the fabric texture. Before you start, don’t hesitate to do assembly tests with your fabric scraps. This will help you adjust your serger.

The t-shirt model: My Girl by Sewing Soon

MY GIRL is a multi-option t-shirt pattern. With its 3 basic VERSIONS and options, you can sew t-shirts all year round for different uses and varied looks. Whatever VERSIONS/OPTIONS you choose, MY GIRL has a fitted but not tight cut: just enough ease for comfort with a relatively “close to the body” fit. In terms of length, it falls between the hips and pelvis, so it can be worn either over or tucked into the bottom piece.

VERSION A: classic. The basic t-shirt, the one you’ll put on without a second thought! It can be worn as an undergarment or as an outer garment. To spice up this basic, several collar OPTIONS are offered: ROUND NECK / BOAT NECK / TURTLENECK

VERSION B: wrap front. A bit more sophisticated, but still very easy to wear daily. Its wrap front feminizes the cut while remaining very soft with a neckline that doesn’t reveal too much.

VERSION C: cowl neck. The most feminine and slightly sexy VERSION of the model, even though the deep neckline remains quite modest. It can be worn just as well with simple jeans as with a more elegant piece for going out.

To be able to sew the MY GIRL t-shirt all year round and make it a true basic, the pattern is offered with short sleeves, long sleeves, and 3/4 sleeves. It is also possible to make a SLEEVELESS VERSION, which visually looks better with VERSION C. That’s why the finishing details for this OPTION are explained in the section dedicated to VERSION C with cowl neck.

Practical information for sewing this model

My Girl is available in PDF format on our website. The printed pattern is not produced by the designer.

My girl is available in a wide range of sizes: from 34 to 50!

VERSION A turtleneck: choose a jersey with a minimum elasticity rate of 30% to ensure neck opening (see the technical sheet “Sewing jersey” to determine this rate)

VERSION B wrap: choose a jersey not too thick to handle the double thickness of the two overlapping fronts

VERSION C cowl neck: choose a fluid and/or heavy jersey like bamboo, modal, linen

In the seamstress’s basket

You will need a quality jersey with good elasticity and good recovery.

Generally, I take 1.1m of jersey when making a short-sleeve t-shirt and 1.5m for a long-sleeve t-shirt. That’s my little reference and it works for many patterns!

Be careful though, for larger sizes and draped versions or with facings, you sometimes need to increase the yardage.

Add some good quality thread or matching serger cones and a double stretch needle.

For those who will sew their t-shirt with a machine, don’t forget to equip it with a jersey needle size 70 or 80 depending on the thickness of your jersey.

My supplies

I chose 2 jerseys from the shop:
- a scrap of burgundy jersey from joly coupons (currently sold out but it caught my eye with its golden flowers so I saved the small scrap 😂, and there are plenty of other very pretty ones.)
- a plain white jersey from the shop.

I chose to sew my t-shirts with the serger and coverstitch machine for the hems, so I picked matching cones of thread.

Technical points for sewing jersey and this pattern

Sewing a t-shirt is quite accessible, but you will need to pay attention to a few technical points!

The first step is learning to work with stretch fabrics and properly manage the tension.

The hardest part is usually managing the distribution of the neckline band, but with a bit of experience, it will go smoothly.

The other more technical point is making hems with a twin needle or, for the better equipped, with a coverstitch machine.

Take your time and it will go smoothly!

My sewing experience

I happily sewed my 2 tee-shirts. With the serger, once the pattern is traced, it’s done in about an hour per tee-shirt.

I chose to sew both tee-shirts in size 36:
- the burgundy one is the unmodified wrap version
- the white one is the modified wrap version (more scooped)

I find Sewing Soon’s instructions very well done and the different models are clearly separated so you don’t get confused with the steps. It’s very clear.

Also, the Sewing Soon designer created a small explanatory guide on sewing jersey and calculating neckline bands that is really useful and comes with the pattern.

I encountered no difficulties during assembly; everything fits perfectly!

To scoop out the white model, I first made the model without modification (the burgundy one).

I was then able to decide where I wanted the model to "sit" under the bust. I then marked the points and cut my pattern accordingly. All I had to do was sew my new version!