A t-shirt is a shirt with a crew neck and short-sleeved design that forms a T-shape around the wearer. T-shirts are relatively, light, inexpensive, and stretchy pieces of clothing that are worn in casual attire. Still, many people may not know the process behind how t-shirts are manufactured. There is a lot that goes into designing these shirts and making them ready for sale.
Styling
- The t-shirt gets styled based on the design and dimensions. These are adjusted based on sizes and stylistic preferences.
Cutting
- Sections of the fabric are cut to the pattern dimensions. This consists of a tube body, front and back sections, sleeves, and trim.
Assembly in the Front, Back, and Sleeves
- The front and back pieces join at the sides together where they’re sewn to form a simple seam. This step must be done carefully to avoid any tears.
- Then, the fabric sleeves are hemmed separately while they’re flat. A band attaches as a superimposed seam to form the hem.
Stitching the Hem and Shoulder Seams
- An overedge stitch sews the garment hem to the garment, forming a flexible hem. The tension is loose enough to allow light stretching that does not tear the fabric.
- Shoulder seams require a superimposed stitch completed before or after attaching the neckband.
Attaching the Neckband and Finishing the Neckline
- Crew neck shirts require a slightly shorter neck edge than the outer edge to prevent bulging. Fabric feeds through textile handling machines that fold and apply tension to it. Cheaper shirts have neckbands attached separately to the front and back necklines, which make the seams visible. V-neck shirts require that the neckband laps over each other. Operators must overlap the band or attach the band at the neckline and sew it tucked in to form a “v” shape.
Completing the Shirt
- Workers inspect the t-shirts for flaws.
- More expensive or high-quality shirts press in a steam tunnel before packaging.
- The shirts are either bagged or boarded around cardboard to maintain their shape. Then, they go into boxes for shipping.