My Favorite Knit Fabrics for T-Shirts

I first shared my favorite knit fabrics at the beginning of 2021, but my taste in knit fabrics has changed over time. I’ve learned more over the past few years, and I feel much better about my fabric recommendations now. You only know what you know, so here is what I’ve learned and why these are my favorite knit fabrics for t-shirts.

Cotton Modal Jersey Knit (cotton/modal/spandex)

This was my absolute favorite when we were living in the US. It’s soft, has great recovery, and has the perfect weight (think: cotton spandex, but softer and with better drape). I even love the white because it is hardly sheer at all.

I still have both of the shirts pictured above, and 3+ years later, they’re still in really good condition. They eventually start to pill the tiniest bit, but not compared to other fabrics that are much worse.

If you’re in the US or Canada, I’ve bought this fabric from Style Maker Fabrics (located in Stanwood, WA) and Black Bird Fabrics (located in Vancouver, Canada). I think more online stores are stocking it now, so go with whichever you are more inclined to buy from.

Here are a few blog posts where I used this fabric:
Maternity Capsule Wardrobe
Cinnamon Tabor V-Neck

Cotton Jersey Knit (cotton/spandex)

Cotton jersey can vary depending on the weight and the fiber percentages. For example, my rust colored Union St Tee is a good mid-weight and is 92% cotton/8% spandex. But my gray Tabitha Tank is a little bit lighter weight, and the percentage is 90% cotton/10% spandex.

Cotton jersey doesn’t usually stretch as far as other knits, so you may need to adjust the neck or armbands of the tops you sew. Measuring the neckline and then multiplying it by .85 or .9 (+adding the seam allowance) works really well, in my experience. For my Union (orange shirt shown above), I needed to adjust the neckband length, but for the Tabitha Tank I didn’t need to, since it was already about 90%.

I love the simplicity and comfort of cotton jersey, and it washes really well. It also works nicely for little girls’ dresses, which is why I always use it for the dresses I make for my daughter. You really can’t go wrong with cotton jersey.

Here are a few blog posts where I used cotton jersey fabrics:
Rust Union St Tee
Gray Tabitha Tank
Green and Burgundy Tabitha Tank

100% Cotton Knit

I’ve only recently dived into the world of sewing with 100% cotton knit, and I am really impressed! I’ve put off trying it for SO long because the fact that the fabric has little-to-no stretch really made me really nervous. How would I sew a neckband without any stretch??

Never fear, it turns out there are other ways to attach a neckband that are actually quite satisfying and turn out really beautiful.

Megan Nielsen has a great neckline binding tutorial that I followed for both Union St Tees that are shown above. For the olive-green tee, I made the neckband 3″ wide like the tutorial suggests. But for the black tee, I made the neckband about 2 5/8″ to make the neckline narrower, and it worked well! Megan Nielsen also has another neckline binding tutorial for when you’re using more of a midweight fabric and don’t want as many layers adding bulk to the neckline.

These two fabrics are lightweight and comfortable to wear. It seems like 100% cotton tends to be lighter weight than cotton spandex, so that’s great as long as you keep in mind that the lighter colors will be a little less opaque.

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Laundering and Care

Since moving to Portugal, we haven’t had a dryer, so I air-dry everything (I used to dry things halfway in a dryer). It’s definitely better for the environment and for my clothes. It’s also much better if you have a drying rack so that you don’t have to hang it over the couch or lay things out on beds.

End Thoughts

As fun as all of the fabric options are and how good they feel when you’re touching them, cottons are going to be much better in terms of sewing, wearing, and washing.

I know a lot of people really like rayon/spandex or bamboo/spandex, but I find them overly stretchy, and they end up pilling so much. I’ve gravitated towards fabrics that feel more like ready-to-wear shirts, so if you like that feel, you will probably like these fabrics too.

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I plan to update this post as I find other great fabrics or have other useful information to add in the future. What are your favorite fabrics to use for t-shirts? I would love to know!

Happy t-shirt sewing!