Knit Raglan Sleeve T-Shirt Dress Sewing Tutorial

This is my new go to dress. I may or may not have worn it three times last week! It’s great for any body type, and I love how loose, comfy and cool it is. And it’s EASY to boot.

This dress calls for 1 1/2 yards of the ethnic print cotton jersey knit and about 1/4 yard of the black cotton jersey knit. The fabric I used for this dress was purchased at a discount store, but I attached links above to one of my favorite fabric websites online where you can find some great ethnic knits and black knits.

Lets get started. First you need to make your pattern. I used a t-shirt to trace my neckline, sleeve and underarm. Fold the t-shirt in half and make sure to add 5/8″ for your seam allowance.

Next, you can create your raglan sleeve by simply drawing a straight line from the underarm to the neckline as shown below. From there you can draw a line from the underarm to the bottom of the dress at your desired length. Mine ended up being 38″ long and 12″ wide at the bottom for each separate front and back piece. You will also need to create a pattern for your neckline facing. I layed the sleeve/dress front pattern pieces + sleeve/dress back pattern pieces together separately and traced the neckline. I made each piece 2″ thick. Remember to cut on the fold using the side nearest the front edge and not the side edge. (Cut one of each on the fold- for a visual example check out my Blooming Boat Dress Tutorial). 

After you cut out your fabric, you can insert your sleeves. But, first I like to hem my sleeves. Hem your sleeves and follow the directions in the image below. 

Now we need to prep our neckline facing. Follow the directions shown below:

Next pin your prepped neckline facing into the neck edge RST. Sew at 1/2″. (Remember to use a straight stitch, and not a zig zag stitch to avoid of excess bulk around your neckline). 

Trim your seam allowance and Iron your neckline facing up.

Last step: hem the bottom of your dress. La fin! Now go try on your new cute dress!!