How To: Simple Pull-On Silk T-Shirt with Round Neck

Quick little project I sewed in 1.5 hrs or so, from some leftover silk blend fabric! The material in a shirt like this makes a big difference - if you're after the more put together feel, the drape of a silk or a crepe will give this shirt a more blousy vibe (vs. a cotton, linen or knit which would result in a more casual look).

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TOOLS:

I. Cut pieces with measurements - These get you a shirt that fits EU36-38/US4-6 loosely, for EU40/US8 slightly more fitted.

I also cut my interfacing pieces for the neckline facing - I just used the cut top pieces to trace the curve of the neckline, and cut out my pieces:

Then I placed the interfacing on the reverse of my fabric, pressed with generous steam to attach..

.. Then cut out the pieces and finished the outside edges with my serger (you could also zig-zag).

II. Moving on to the shoulders, where I did French seams. First pinned the shoulders together, wrong sides of fabric facing, sewed, and trimmed the seam allowance down to just 3mm or so:

And then flipped over, right sides facing, and sewed again to enclose the first seam allowance into the fold - creating a neat French seam.

III. To start with the neckline, I first double-checked I had the size of the facing pieces right by placing them around the neckline, then sewed them together at the short ends to create a circle.

Then pinned the facing, right side facing right side of top, along the neckline, and sewed all around.

After sewing, it's important to clip the seam allowance at steady intervals to remove tension from the curve:

.. And then you're ready to flip the facing onto the reverse, and press!

You could leave it as-is if you want a clean, non-stitched look on the right side. I chose to add a top-stitch close to the fold on the right side (also hand-sewed the facing onto the shoulder seam allowances on the reverse with a few stitches, to keep it nicely in place).

IV. Next up where the sleeves, which I pinned in place, right sides facing, and sewed (finishing the seam allowances with my serger, zig-zag again works as well). I had planned on French seams here too, but honestly couldn't be bothered..

Here's something I like to do whenever doing non-set sleeves - after sewing the sleeves into place, I at this point press the folds onto the sleeve hems. I find it's much easier when they're still open like this, vs. after you've sewn the sleeve underseam.

However.... I did end up adjusting the sleeve shape a bit, so with this particular project, that step went to waste:)

V. Thinking I was almost done, I pinned the sides together and sewed them..

... And also finished the sleeve hems and the top hem with double-folds. Which got me here. When trying the top on at this point, I realised I did not like the shape of the sleeves. They were too loose and floppy. So I took them in and clipped a bit off the length (shown with the black lines). To give the sleeve hems a bit more structure, I finished them with bias tape instead of the double-fold.

After that, I was still not fully satisfied with them, so to finish off I decided to add a box pleat. At this point I didn't have the energy to re-do the bias tape finish, so I went for the lazy option and just folded the pleat on the hemmed sleeve...