Toddler T-Shirt | Purl Soho

Making clothes for little children is a satisfying endeavor. Kids look great in boxy shapes, so you can get away with omitting tricky details like darts. Additionally, and perhaps best of all, kids clothes are small by nature, so they don’t take any time to sew!

Toddler T-Shirt | Purl Soho

This sweet little Toddler T-Shirt, which will fit a 3 year old loosely and a 5 year old more snuggly, is elemental in its construction, just a simple T shape with a charming (and practical) overlap detail at the neck. It’s made with gingham bias tape and Robert Kaufman’s extraordinary Dot Indigo from the Chambray Union collection. This woven fabric has a light, breezy feel and drape, as delightful to wear as it is to sew. All of the materials to make one can be found here in our handy kit!

Toddler T-Shirt | Purl Soho

Sewing this shirt was everything that I love about kids sewing. The only problem is that I ended up being so happy with it, now I want to sew one for myself! For now, however, I might just have to make one for all the kids I know! –Molly

Materials

Toddler T-Shirt | Purl Soho

To make one size 4 shirt you’ll need…

You will also need:

Note

Prewash and dry the fabric but not the bias tape.

Pattern

Cut

Cut two rectangles 14 inches wide by 17 inches tall. These are the Body Pieces.

Cut two rectangles 6 inches wide by 12 inches tall. These are the Sleeve Pieces.

The dots on the fabric have a direction, so make sure to cut all the pieces with the dot pattern  consistently oriented in relation to the length and width of the pieces.

Toddler T-Shirt | Purl Soho

Press the Body Pieces in half lengthwise, wrong sides together, so that the 17-inch sides meet one another.

Place the lower section of the Neck Template on the fold of one of the Body Pieces as directed on the template. The highest point of the neck template should go just to the top of the folded piece. Trace the template with chalk or a pencil and then cut along the traced line, which is the neck edge.

Toddler T-Shirt | Purl Soho

Open the Body Piece and press it flat.

Repeat for the second Body Piece.

Attach the Bias Tape

Toddler T-Shirt | Purl Soho

Pin the bias tape around the neck edges of both Body Pieces.

Edgestitch it on with the matching thread, making sure to catch both sides of the bias tape.

Toddler T-Shirt | Purl Soho

Sew Together

Toddler T-Shirt | Purl Soho

With the wrong side of one Body Piece facing up, use the fold markings on the Neck Template as a guide to fold the top left and right flaps down 2 inches. The right side of the fabrics should now show at the shoulders, as shown above. Press the shoulders down in this orientation to create a crease.

Repeat for the second Body Piece.

Toddler T-Shirt | Purl Soho

Unfold the shoulders on both Body Pieces and lay one down right side up. Lay the second one down right side up but facing the opposite direction, matching up their shoulder creases. The curved edges now overlap one another. Pin the overlapping sections together along their raw edges.

Using the thread to match the fabric, sew the pinned sections together along the raw edges with a ¼-inch seam allowance. This is now the Body.

Toddler T-Shirt | Purl Soho

Fold one Sleeve Pieces in half widthwise so that its short edges meet. Press it to create a crease and then unfold..

Repeat for the second Sleeve Piece.

Toddler T-Shirt | Purl Soho

With right sides together pin the long raw edge of a Sleeve Piece to a raw shoulder edge of the Body by matching up their creases. Sew the Sleeve Piece to the body with a ½-inch seam allowance.

Repeat for the other Sleeve Piece.

Toddler T-Shirt | Purl Soho

With the wrong side still facing out press the T-shirt in half at the shoulder creases so that the two short sides of the Sleeve Pieces meet as well as the bottom short sides of the Body.

Press the bottom raw edge of one side of the Body up ¼-inch twice towards the wrong side and pin this hem into place. Edgestitch it down.

Repeat for the opposite bottom raw edge of the Body, making sure that the two sides are exactly the same length.

Toddler T-Shirt | Purl Soho

Pin raw edges together along the sides and sleeves.

Using the thread to match the fabric sew the pinned edges together with a ½-inch seam allowance.

Toddler T-Shirt | Purl Soho

Cut a few notches out of the seam allowance at the underarm.

Zig zag stitch over the seam allowances to finish them.

Toddler T-Shirt | Purl Soho

Turn the T-shirt right side out. The side with the visible shoulder curves , pictured above, is the front.

Press flat and you’re all finished!