How to make a pretty floral v-neck t-shirt

In today’s post: Learn how to make a pretty floral v-neck tee with my free sewing pattern.

Hiya! Almost a year ago I shared a v-neck t-shirt pattern in women’s size large. I love v-neck tees because I think they are the most flattering shirts for me, and in the summer I end up with a permanent v-neck tan. I recently made a new v-neck tee from a lightweight floral fabric and wanted to show you how fabric choice can affect the finished look of a homemade shirt.

First off, if you’d like to make a v-neck tee, visit this post to download my pattern and find instructions on sewing it up. My women’s t-shirt patterns are a relaxed size large (generous fit for a 38 inch bust, and depending on how stretchy your fabric is they may fit a larger bust size than that).

For this floral version, I used a lightweight jersey spandex blend from Girl Charlee. It’s soft and has a nice drape, and it’s quite cool in the hot weather. It’s an inexpensive knit and I’m not sure how it will hold up to repeated washing – after about 4 washes I’m already seeing a bit of pilling. However, the print is so pretty and the shirt only took 1 yard of fabric, so for $6.50 I’m satisfied.

Here’s a comparison of the first v-neck tee I made and this floral one. You can see that the v-neck on the floral version is lower, even though I used the exact same pattern for both shirts. That’s because the floral fabric was a little stretchier than the grey fabric, and it doesn’t “recover” or snap back as well once it’s been stretched. So to keep the v-neck on the floral version as high as it is on the grey version, I would have had to cut the neckbinding a little shorter than the pattern instructs.

I don’t mind that the v-neck on the floral shirt is a bit lower, but you can see my permanent v-neck tan line when I wear it! ?

Be sure to visit the sewing pattern archives for lots more free patterns. Happy sewing!