Sewing a children's shirt with raglan sleeves is suitable even for beginners with this guide. And thanks to our children's shirt patterns, you can customize the shirts to your child's wishes.
The most important things at a glance
- In this post, I will show you how to sew a sporty children's shirt with raglan sleeves
- I will provide a comparison of the patterns from the "lemon collection"
- You will learn which fabrics are suitable for a children's shirt
- and what you should keep in mind during construction
- Sewing level: Beginner
- Sewing time: 2 hours
Every child loves them, wears them, needs them: We are talking about wonderfully soft children's shirts. These colorful tops in small sizes with short or long sleeves, of which you can never have enough in the closet. Usually covered in chocolate or crayon stains. And always way too small after what feels like 2 days. No wonder that one develops a need for more here.
But the desired shirt is not always available on the market. Either the motif isn't right, or the color, or the cut.
Sewing a children's shirt yourself is the solution. You can draw from the entire wild palette of children's fabrics and cater to your child's wishes. Plus, it's fast and fun. Especially because the fabric amounts are manageable and easy to handle, even for sewing beginners.
You can sew children's shirts with normal, set-in sleeves (like our Children's Shirt Luv) or with raglan sleeves. I will show you here how you can sew a children's shirt with raglan sleeves. The advantage here is that you don't need to sew an armscye.
This is easier, especially for beginners. Furthermore, with a raglan shirt, the shoulder seams do not lie directly on the shoulder. This makes wearing a backpack more comfortable, as no seams can dig in. In this post, I am focusing on the patterns from the "lemon collection," because here you can choose whether it should be a slim, wide, or tunic-style top. The method with raglan sleeves is always the same.
You can fill the wardrobe with many colorful basics. And spare clothing for daycare is also taken care of. By the way, also great with a matching hat. Click here for our freebies "Sewing a Beanie" and "Sewing a Reversible Beanie".
Reading tip: Sewing a Baby Shirt
YouTube Tutorial: Sewing a Children's Shirt
What is a raglan sleeve?
A raglan sleeve is a specific type of sleeve cut. The shoulder seam runs diagonally from the armpit into the neckline. You therefore have no seam directly on the shoulder as you would when sewing in a normal sleeve, because the sleeve cap has been integrated into the pattern.
A distinction is made between a full raglan and a half raglan. With a half raglan, the sleeve does not meet the neckline but an additional shoulder seam.
In this guide, we are focusing on the full raglan.
This sleeve cut received the name "raglan" in the 19th century. When Lord Raglan lost an arm in the Battle of Waterloo, a special coat was tailored for him that he could easily put on with only one arm. In this coat, the sleeves were not attached at the shoulder seam, but diagonally at the collar seam. The raglan sleeve was born.
Why should I sew a children's shirt with raglan sleeves?
Children's shirts are great projects for beginners. Their fabric consumption is minimal and they are sewn quickly. Furthermore, you can cater to your child's wishes and create individual shirts for the whole year. And between us – children constantly need new shirts. So every well-fitting, self-sewn shirt is a real plus point.
By the way: You can also sew children's shirts from discarded adult clothing. This saves resources, your wallet, and is sustainable.
A children's shirt with raglan sleeves is especially suitable for beginners. You don't have to sew in an armscye here, which is often a hurdle for sewing beginners. Furthermore, this children's shirt is not only cut sportily, but because there are no shoulder seams, a daycare or school backpack can be worn much more comfortably.
TIP: As a highlight, you can of course give the shirt an additional eye-catcher through embroidery with an embroidery machine!
Which fabrics can I use to sew a children's shirt with raglan sleeves?
A very popular fabric for children's shirts is, undisputed, cotton jersey*. It is soft, stretchy, absorbs moisture immediately and is available in incredibly many beautiful colors and prints. Not only perfect for everyday shirts but also for sports, chilling, or sleeping.
But you can also use sweat fabric. In any case, it should be a stretchy fabric.
Pay attention to a textile certification. This shows you the origin, specifications, quality level, and/or conformity of a product to production, social, and environmental standards. The most well-known certificate is the Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS). But there are numerous others.
I have listed a small selection of fabrics for you here:
| Fabric | Processing tips | Source |
| Cotton Jersey | - available in various versions, e.g., with viscose - bi-elastic - large selection of colors and patterns - sew with jersey needle size 70-80 - Sewing tips: sewing jersey |
Order jersey* |
| Sweat | - stretchy and non-elastic fabrics available - sew with stretch needle size 80 - if necessary, cut cuffs diagonally for more elasticity |
Order sweat* |
| Quilted fabric | - multi-layered - can be used on both sides - especially warm - sew with stretch needle size 80 |
Order quilted fabric* |
| Knit fabric | - for loosely knitted fabrics, stabilize edges with interfacing H609 - process with overlock - Sewing tips: sewing knit fabric |
Order knit fabric* |
| Bouclé Jersey | - fabric is often very wide - reminiscent of teddy fabrics, but thinner - sew with jersey needle size 70-80 |
Order bouclé jersey* |
| French Terry | - available in various versions, e.g., with viscose - thinner than classic sweat - Sewing tips: Sewing with French Terry |
Order French Terry* |
| Nicki | - especially beautiful colors due to velvety surface - tame rolling edges with strips of interfacing H609 - if possible, process with overlock - Sewing tips: sewing Nicki fabric |
Order Nicki* |
| Knit-Sweat | - soft and bi-elastic - visible knit stitch on the back - can be used on both sides (e.g., for right-side folded hems) - process with narrow zigzag or overlock |
Order knit-sweat* |
| Jacquard Jersey | - elastic, light & soft - particularly noble look due to structured surface - usually stable fabric edges, easy to process - stretch needle size 80 |
Order Jacquard jersey* |
| Alpenfleece | - fluffy, soft & cuddly - suitable for beginners because dimensionally stable - can be processed with overlock or sewing machine - stretch needle size 80 |
Order Alpenfleece* |
Should I pre-wash the fabric for my children's shirt?
Even if the fabric is certified, you should pre-wash it first. This not only flushes out residues but also prevents your finished children's shirt from shrinking after the first wash. Note the washing temperature recommended by the manufacturer. My tip: Wash the fabric the same way you will wash the finished shirt.
Reading tip: Wash fabrics before sewing?
Which sewing thread should I use for the children's shirt?
Constant washing, ironing, putting on and taking off can really strain the seams of your sweaters. Therefore, it makes sense to use a really suitable thread. You are always well-advised with an all-purpose polyester thread. However, it is important to use a flexible stitch (zigzag or fake overlock). Another good option is the use of elastic sewing thread. This is now available from some suppliers. We are particularly fond of Seraflex from Mettler, with which we have already achieved real success.
What's special about stretchy threads: You can work with a normal straight stitch on your sewing machine, and the seam is still stretchy. This means: when the fabric is stretched, the seam moves with it. With normal sewing thread, it often tears. That's why Seraflex is a real discovery for us.
If you work with an overlock machine, the seam is inherently stretchy. So, you can easily use normal overlock thread* and get a clean and durable sewing result.
What must I consider when working with stretchy fabrics?
If you haven't worked with shirt fabrics yet, this project is a great opportunity to get some practice.
Here are my best tips for sewing jersey, sweat & co.:
- Use a suitable sewing machine needle: Jersey or stretch needles are perfect
- Stabilize sensitive fabric edges: Elastic seam tape or a strip of interfacing H609 is very suitable for this
- Start with cotton jersey or sweat: It is wonderfully easy to work with
- Sew with an overlock: Fabric transport works perfectly and the edges are trimmed and finished directly during sewing
- Use a walking foot: This helps to transport thick layers of fabric evenly with the sewing machine
- Use a stretchy sewing thread: It stretches with the fabric, and you can use a normal straight stitch
Reading tip: Buy an overlock sewing machine
Can I sew the children's shirt with a sewing machine?
It is no problem at all to sew a shirt for children with a sewing machine. Here are my tips for a perfect result:
- Reinforce fabric edges: Rolling fabric edges can be stabilized with iron-on strips of interfacing H609*
- Use a suitable needle: A jersey*, stretch*, or super stretch needle* is best suited for stretchy fabrics
- Use a walking foot: The walking foot helps with the fabric transport of stretchy fabrics and avoids waviness
- Reduce presser foot pressure: The seams on stretchy fabrics often look better if the presser foot pressure is lower
- Correct stitch selection: a narrow zigzag (sometimes also called elastic straight stitch) is perfect!
- Select suitable hem types: Hems with a cover stitch, the decorative stitch of your sewing machine, or a twin needle are ideal
My reading tips for you:
What do I need to sew a children's shirt?
Besides stretchy fabric and your sewing machine, you need a bit of basic equipment:
- Jersey* (or another fabric from the fabric recommendation list)
- Scissors*
- Sewing thread*
- Pins*
- Stretch needle* for the sewing machine
- Iron & ironing board
- Overlocker & sewing machine
- A children's pattern from the Lemon collection (paper pattern or ebook)
Instructions for sewing a children's raglan-sleeve shirt
Choose a suitable pattern. To make your choice a little easier, I will show you the basic shapes of the "Lemon collection" side-by-side.
Print out your chosen pattern at actual size without scaling, tape it together, and cut it out.
- Lemon slim: slim fit
- Lemon loose: loose fit
- Lemon tunic: A-line
Cutting
1 x front piece on the fold
1 x back piece on the fold
1 x neck binding on the fold
2 x sleeves (mirror images)
Tip: Lay the fabric right side to right side, then you just need to pin it together afterward. Make a small snip in the fold at the neckline. This makes it easier to identify the front and back center.
Lay the opened front piece in front of you with the right (the nice) side facing up.
Take the matching sleeve and lay it right side to right side (the nice sides facing each other) on the front piece.
Pin the shoulder seam together.
Repeat the step with the second sleeve and pin the second front shoulder seam together.
Sew the sleeves to the front piece using an overlocker or an elastic stitch on your sewing machine.
Lay the sewn front piece in front of you with the right side facing up and fold the sleeves to the side.
Lay the back piece right side to right side onto the front piece and fold the sleeve edges back down.
Pin the shoulder seams right side to right side together.
Close the shoulder seams with your overlocker or an elastic stitch on your sewing machine.
This is what it should look like now when you unfold the shirt.
You can clearly see here that the shoulder seams lead into the neckline.
Fold the children's shirt together right side to right side.
Pin the side and sleeve edges flush together.
Make sure the underarm seams meet.
Sew the side and sleeve edges together using an overlocker or an elastic stitch on your sewing machine.
Sewing the neckline
Lay the neckband right side to right side and pin the short ends together.
Sew the band along the short edge using a straight stitch on your sewing machine.
This seam will become the back center of the neckline.
Fold the band lengthwise left side to left side and pin the open edges together.
Tip: Pin the front and back center. And place one clip in the center of the sections in between.
Pin the folded neckband right side to right side into the neckline. Start at the back center. Then pin the front center and fix the neckband in between with light tension.
Sew the cuff to the neckline using an overlocker or an elastic stitch on your sewing machine.
Fold the hems toward the wrong (inner) side of the fabric as indicated in the sewing pattern and pin them in place.
Sew the hems to the garment fabric using an elastic stitch on your sewing machine.
Tip: With a flexible sewing thread, such as Seraflex by Mettler*, you can also use a straight stitch. A seam sewn with a twin needle or a coverstitch machine also works great for this shirt.
Turn the children's shirt right side out and iron it well.
Done.
Conclusion: Sewing a children's shirt with raglan sleeves
Sewing a children's shirt with raglan sleeves is the easiest way for sewing beginners to refresh and fill the wardrobes of their little ones. Whether it's a long-sleeved version in winter or with short sleeves in the summer. Once you have sewn one, the others will follow in your sleep. You can sew the shirt in one color or play with color combinations. Anything is possible here.
So, get to your fabric box and start having fun.
Happy simple sewing, Eve & Sabine
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