Our favorite DIY projects transform plain, tired garments into one of a kind works of art (inexpensively!) by adding a pop of colorful pattern. This raglan t-shirt refashion is exactly that type of project. We love raglan tees–they bridge the seasonal gap between summer and fall seamlessly, giving you more coverage and a classic, Americana look.  Since we’re using a regular old cotton crewneck t-shirt (bonus points for thrifting it), this project is fast AND inexpensive. Click here to jump down to the video. Let’s get started!

Gina in her refashioned DIY Raglan

Here are the materials you’ll need:

DIY Raglan Refashion Materials

  • Crewneck t-shirt
  • One yard of a stretchy knit fabric (Modern Jersey, Cotton Spandex Jersey, or Organic Cotton Knit are great choices – choose a fabric similar in weight to your t-shirt). We’re using Crazy about Hats by Mariskadesign in Modern Jersey.
  • A raglan t-shirt pattern (We’re using the pattern from It’s Always Autumn–It’s free and comes with different sleeve lengths!)
  • Sewing machine w/ a zigzag stitch or a serger

Prep your t-shirt

SF-RaglanRefashion - CuttingNeck

Start by cutting out the neckline out of your T-shirt and set it aside – you’ll need this again later.

Cutting down the arms, shoulders, and side seams of the raglanNext, remove the sleeves along the seams (you can get rid of these) and cut down the shoulder seams and side seams. You should now have two separate front and back rectangular pieces. 

Cutting out our raglan pattern

Fold your front piece in half (if your T-shirt has a design on it, have the design facing out) Lay the T-shirt body piece of your pattern down on top, and cut around it. Repeat this process with the back piece of the -tshirt.

Prep your fabric

Cutting out the sleeves for our raglan

Fold your fabric in half and lay your sleeve pattern on top on it – make sure the direction of greatest stretch will end up wrapping around your arm (make sure that the length of the sleeve is perpendicular to the direction of greatest stretch in your fabric).

Our cut out raglan sleeves

Cut out your sleeves.

  • Optional: If you’re using a heavier weight T-shirt and a thicker sleeve fabric like Organic Cotton Knit, you may want to make sleeve cuffs so that your raglan turns out more like a sweatshirt. From your yard of fabric, cut two rectangles from using the direction of greatest stretch for your width – the width should be the width of your sleeve, and the length I prefer to use is about 7 inches (you’ll end up folding these pieces in half to make your cuffs, so you’ll want to double whatever length you want your cuffs to be to make these rectangles.)

Cutting out the neckband

If your raglan pattern does not have a neckband pattern piece, use the old t-shirt neckband as a guide for cutting out your new one: cut it open, and lay it across your fabric in the direction of greatest stretch. Cut out a strip of fabric that is the length of the old neckband and is twice the width.

Assembly

Sewing the arms on our Raglan body

Using a serger or zigzag/stretch stitch, sew both your sleeve pieces onto your t-shirt front at the shoulder seams with right sides facing. Sew your T-shirt back to one of the sleeve pieces at the shoulder seams with right sides facing.

Pinning and Sewing the raglan neckline

Take your neckband piece and fold it in half width-wise. Pin it along the neckline of your shirt, stretching a little as needed. Sew in place, then topstitch if desired.

  • I prefer to sew neckbands flat. If you’d rather, first sew the t-shirt back to the second sleeve, then sew the ends of the neckband together with right sides facing. Stretch and pin along the neckline with the seam in line with one of the back shoulder seams, and sew in place. Top stitch if desired.

Almost finished - We've attached the last sleeve piece to the body

Once the neckband is attached, sew the final sleeve piece to the back of the shirt, being careful to line up the top edges of the neckband.

Sewing the raglan sleeves together

Fold your sleeves in half and your shirt sides together and pin in place, right sides facing, and sew. Take care to line up the bottom hem of the T-shirt pieces as well.

Pinning and hemming the sleeves

Working from the inside of your shirt, turn the ends of your sleeves in about ¼ inch, then fold in again and pin at the desired length (my hem typically ends up being about 1.5 inches). Topstitch to finish your sleeve hems.

  • If you made sleeve cuffs, sew the ends together with a ¼ in seam. Fold in half widthwise and pin the edges to the outside of your sleeve, right sides together, stretching a bit. Sew in place.

And that's it! Our new short sleeve DIY raglan is finished!


Video tutorial:

 And that’s all there is to it–put on your new raglan and enjoy!