You can never have too many striped tees, right? This top with a contrasting neckband is inspired by a style I saw in a COS store.
Isn’t this such a lovely detail? It adds a subtle neckerchief scarf or necklace quality to a rather basic tee.
I tried a few different colours and ended up with this deep red rib-knit since I think red, white and black go together really nicely. The pattern is adapted from the Sew U Home Stretch Book by Wendy Mullin (Amazon affiliate link).
The fabric is a very delicate and lightweight cotton/rayon jersey. I had to use the smallest knit ballpoint needle because the fabric breaks easily. If you want to know more about picking the right needle when sewing knits, check out my guide to sewing machine needles for knits.
Another thing that can be tricky when sewing knits is getting the neckband to sit right, without puckers or stretched-out fabric. I follow this neckband sewing method. And in our book Fit for Knits, there is an even more in-depth step-by-step tutorial with suggestions on how to alter the neckband pattern piece to suit the fabric you are using.
Getting the stripes to align is another challenge, but there are a few tricks to make this easier. Check out my guide to cutting and sewing striped knit fabric to see my favourite methods.
I originally made this t-shirt as part of a video tutorial for sewing t-shirts (on YouTube) but it’s become a real wardrobe favourite! Here I’m in my sewing studio wearing the top and working on a sample for my next sewing pattern.
