Hey y’all – welcome to the second annual Sewing for Men month on the blog! Whether you’re a man who sews or you sew for a man, I hope to have something for you this month. And today I’ve got a raglan t shirt pattern to share.
I love sewing t-shirts – and that’s a good thing, since t-shirts are pretty much all that the Coach will wear unless we’re headed to a formal event. Like, say, a football banquet, ha!
Raglans are a great way to add some interest to the plain t shirt, and they’re perfect for a daddy day at the park.
To make your own, you’ll need:
- About 1 yard of 60″ wide knit fabric for the shirt
- 1/2 yard contrast fabric for the sleeves
- 1/8 yard of rib knit for the neckband
- A sewing machine that will do a zig-zag stitch. Note: You DON’T need a serger to do this. I sewed t-shirts for years using my 1950s Singer 503 and a zig-zag stitch. Now that I have a serger I prefer it, but again, you don’t have to have one.
- The pattern, see below
How to Get the Pattern
The pattern is a mens’ size medium, which fits chest sizes up to about 38″ with some ease, and up to 40-41″ for men who like fitted t-shirts. If you need to make the pattern bigger or smaller, check out this post. To get this pattern, click your preferred option from the buttons below as a newsletter subscriber or gallery access pass purchaser. Note that the free version of the pattern does not have printable instructions.
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Please note that all my free patterns are licensed for personal use only (no selling items made from this unless you purchase it) and by downloading you are agreeing to this license.
After cutting your pieces, line up the front sleeve edges with the shirt front and stitch right sides together, using a stretch stitch. Need help with sewing knits? See this post.
Line the back sleeve edges up the same way as you did for the front. Once these seams are stitched the shirt will look like this picture below.
Fold the shirt right sides together, matching the side seams and the sleeves. Stitch, all in one seam as shown above.
Fold the neckband in half, right sides together, matching the short edges to form a loop. Stitch. Then fold in half again, wrong sides together, to form the neckband. Pin the doubled neckband to the right side out shirt at the center front and center back. Stitch the neckband on the shirt as shown below, stitching through all 3 layers and stretching the neckband just enough to match it to the shirt but not stretching the shirt.
Fold the sleeve and bottom edges 1/2″ to the wrong side to form a hem and stitch, using a stretch stitch. You’re done!
Now take that shirt to the park and get your arm workout in pushing kids on the swings.
Kristie
I am so excited for this months theme. My hubby hasn’t let me sew him anything in, well ever. And this year he has acted like he will wear somethings that I might sew for him. I am way excited to find some fabric and get him a couple of tshirts made. Thank you!
Caren marks
I can so relate! My husband just complained I never make him anything.
Kristi Andres
Thank you! This would have been super helpful around Christmas when I drafted a raglan T for the hubby based on one of his shirts to go with the PJ pants I made him. Let’s just say the sleeves stopped at a point at the top before I sewed them on and the whole thing is ridiculously long. He still wears it though!!!
coupon chaska
Nice tutirial