The Square Neck Tee - Rayon & Jersey Knit

Tee shirt patterns can sometimes look - well - all the same!  I have to say that the Square Neck Top caught my eye because of the beautiful neckline. I hadn't made a square neckline and - the bonus - no sleeve!  It's a lovely designed dolman style shoulder. The style of this top is loose fitting and boxy. This is a great addition to our pattern collection - and we hope it is for you as well!

I don't know if I really need to write a blog posting for this top. The pattern is very straight forward because of it's simplicity. Let me summarize the highlights of this pattern:

• Written for sizes XS to 7X
• Written for both woven fabric and jersey knit
• Pattern pieces to support woven versus jersey knit
• Front pattern piece for the woven version to support cup size range of A/B and C/D.
• Simple instructions to follow and very well written to boot!

Click the image to the left to watch our YouTube Pattern Review!

I decided to make the Square Neck Top from both our Batik Rayon following the woven instructions and our Batik Cotton Jersey Knit following the knit instructions and pattern pieces. The steps for making the garment are the same regardless of fabric, however, the pattern pieces are different.

Pattern Pieces and Fit:

I opened the pattern jacket and organized the pattern pieces and read through the instructions. Using Swedish Tracing Paper, I traced the pattern pieces for the woven version of the top. The pattern pieces include a front, back, and front and back facings. I used the A/B cup version of the front piece.

This is a new pattern for me and I didn't really want to take the time to sew a sample (I know, not good) so I again traced the front and back pieces on tissue paper. I pinned the tissue paper to my body mannequin to get a feeling for the fit. Sometimes this will help me make informed decisions on the overall fit and sometimes it doesn't.

As you can see from the 3rd image, the fit looked quite good. However, I felt that the neck opening was too large and too low. The sleeve opening was also too large. The side seams are 2 inches below my underarm. I felt I could make any adjustments during the sewing process, but I probably should have stopped and made a shoulder adjustment and an arm adjustment. [ more on that later... ]

Pattern Layout and Basic Neck Facing:

Pattern layout is very straight forward. I folded the fabric in from one selvage edge just enough to support the front and back of the top. I cut out a square large enough for both facing pieces. I fused the Envy Silk Interfacing to the square of fabric, folded it and cut out the facing pieces.

I always fuse more fabric than is needed for the facings. I have learned that the time and effort it takes to cut out the interfacing separate from the fabric is time that I can spend on something else. The fused facings turn out perfect every time when I prefuse the fabric to the interfacing. 

1st Step:  Sew the darts and staystitch the front and back neckline. Always take the time to add staystitching to your garment. It will stabilize the neckline and reduce any stretching when you attempt to pin/clip the facing to the neckline.

I'm adding images of the neckline. It was simple because the facing pieces are perfectly aligned with the neckline. No stretch, no adjustments needed. It was a breeze to attach the facing. I serged the outer edge of the facing before attaching it to the garment.

Sew Shoulder Seam

Sew Facing and Finish the Outer Edge

Pin/Click facing to Neckline

Once the facing is attached, follow the steps to clip the curves and points of the front square neck. And, definitely understitch the neckline of the facing. The facing will stay in place with the understitching.

Finishing the Garment:

Once the neckline is finished all that's left is the side seams and to hem the arm opening and lower edge. I serged the edges of the arms and lower body of the garment. I then turned the edge to the wrong size about 1/2 inch and pressed it in place. I topstitched along all three openings to secure the hem.

Such a simple top to make!  ...  So I made another - Jersey Knit Version.

The Jersey Knit version is only slightly different. The shoulder curve is more dramatic with the knit version of the pattern pieces. There is no dart on the front piece. The size you select will be smaller to account for the natural stretch of the Jersey Knit. I made a size smaller.

I adjusted the knit pattern pieces exactly as I did the pieces for the woven version. I knew that the armhole would be too large and that the neckline needed to be raised. I probably could have made the top one "more" size smaller, but I like how loose the fabric feels. It's perfect for my style!

Lessons Learned:

Never be in a rush to make a sample garment. I could have saved a bit of time and frustration.

Armhole:  The armhole is too large for my arm. I adjusted the side seam by adding 1 1/2 inches to the side seam and taking those 1 1/2 inches from the arm opening. 

Square neck: The square neck is too low from my chest area. I redrafted the shoulder curve and removed 1/2 inch from the front and back pattern pieces (and facings). By removing the 1/2 inch it brought up the neck opening just enough.

Until next time....