Begin the design process with your favorite Basic Tee pattern. My starting point was Ce Podolak's Material Things Fearless T-Shirt #109, but each of us has our own favorite, so use what works best for you. If you do wish to use the pattern that I used, please note that this pattern has been drafted using different sizing measurements as compared to most commercial patterns. Check the pattern against your personal measurements to determine the appropriate size. The pattern has been drafted with industry standard seam allowances of 3/8".

* Note: All measurements given are specific to Kathryn's size Medium Tee pattern. Slight adjustments smaller or larger may be required when working in other sizes or with other Basic Tee patterns. It is recommended to sew up a fitting test copy of the original pattern out of inexpensive lightweight jersey to determine fit and length before finalizing the draft for an actual garment.

Trace off your Basic Tee pattern onto a large piece of plain, durable paper (I use 36" wide white banquet table paper for drafting). This will become your basic draft, so make sure to center it on the paper so that there is room around the draft for your pattern adjustments. The quickest and easiest method for tracing a copy of an original pattern is to pin the tissue paper pattern to your white paper, and, with a spiked tracing wheel, outline the pattern and all markings. Remove the tissue paper and use a red colored pencil to trace over the indentations left from the spiked tracing wheel. The red pencil will help to differentiate between the original basic Tee pattern draft and the new style lines (drawn in pencil).

Pattern drafting equipment

A few basic tools are required for pattern drafting:

1. .5mm mechanical pencil for fine accurate lines
2. 2" x 18" clear ruler marked with an 1/8" grid
3. red pencil
4. invisible tape
5. paper scissors
6. spiked tracing wheel
7. hip curve ruler for drawing curves
8. armsyce ruler for drawing armhole curves