I’ve been obsessed with ringer t-shirts since the ’90s, I just love the retro look of a contrasting and wide binding. That said, this was actually the first time I tried to make one of those iconic t-shirts myself. As we know binding is not always an easy task, so it does take some practice and understanding the best methods in order to make this work on our home sewing equipment.
The t-shirt pattern is partly based on an old Burda envelope pattern, T-shirt Pattern 7916 that is out of print, but worth chasing down. The draft is great and it has both male and female sizing in the same pattern. I have also been told that a pretty similar pattern is still available but with a new pattern number.
Binding can be kinda tricky, For this ringer t-shirt, I’m using the Binding with trimmed edge method from my book Sewing Activewear. It’s a great non-bulky method that is perfect for a wider binding and doesn’t require a binder attachment. You cut away the excess fabric after stitching, which makes sewing an even binding easier.
Plus you can sew it as a loop after the shoulder and sleeve seams are sewn. I used the coverstitch for the topstitching but you can also use a sewing machine twin needle for this method.
And if you have a coverstitch machine and a binder attachment and want to use that one instead, I highly recommend that you check out my tutorial for How to succeed with the coverstitch binder attachment. Because using a binder attachment when sewing stretchy knits is not easy at all, unfortunately, and it took me many hours to figure stuff out.
I will, of course, share this method and other binding methods in my upcoming coverstitch book too.
So there it is my ringer t-shirt. I love it to bits and will probably make another one this year, as I’ve decided to focus more on easier projects this year, which I will also talk more about in my next video (out on Sunday) where I share my sewing goals for 2019.
Hope you all are off to a great start this new year!
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