How to Sew a Knot Shirt

Hey y’all – today I’m taking a page out of my most recent pattern, the Austin Tee, and showing you how you can make any shirt a knot shirt by adding these tie front pieces. You can do this on a woven or knit shirt, and you can place the knot at center front, off over a hip, or anywhere in between.

I made a little video to show you how easy this hack is; read on for the pattern pieces and specific details. And if the one below won’t load for some reason, you can also watch it on YouTube here.

Ok, to do this hack, first you need the pattern, which you can download here. You’ll need to cut out 4 ties and 1 facing piece. You can interface the facing piece if you’d like.

Start by placing two facing pieces right sides together, then sewing around the edges. Clip the curves, turn the tie right side out and press.

Place the facing pattern piece on the unfinished hem of the shirt wherever you want the tie to go (if you’re doing this on a finished shirt,unstitch or cut off the hem first). Cut out the triangle area.

Place the ties on the triangle, lining up the edges. The ties won’t touch the hem edge by design. Then place the facing piece so it’s right sides together with the shirt. Stitch, using the 1/2 inch seam. Clip into the point.

Flip the facing around to the wrong side of the shirt. Trim the seam allowances and then wrap the facing around them and stitch, making sure not to stitch ties in this line.

Finally, fold up the hem and and stitch it to finish the shirt.