Silk fabric guide
Silk T-Shirt Design with AI
A silk t-shirt is a specialist order: ask for silk jersey at 90 to 140 g/m², and expect fewer mills to take it on.
It is the lightest of the 10 cloths this guide lists for this cut; stretch satin comes next.
Next to stretch satin, it is lighter.
Silk T-Shirt at a glance
- Cloth to ask your mill for
- Silk jersey
- Typical weight
- 90 to 140 g/m²
- Drape
- Fluid, falls close to the body
- Stretch
- None
- Breathability
- High
- Warmth
- Neutral
- Care
- Dry clean
- How common
- Niche, usually a specialist order
- Typical cloth price
- $15-100/yard
Typical trade ranges, not one mill's figures: confirm them with your mill.
The t-shirt, in numbers
- Typical length
- 66 to 74 cm, from the high point of the shoulder
- Defining details
- Crew or V-neck, set-in or dropped shoulder, rib neckband, twin-needle hems
- Cloth needed
- about 1.0 to 1.4 m of 150 cm cloth, roughly $16 to $150 of cloth at typical prices
Typical figures for an adult size M. The pattern tier is set from the real piece count when you order.
How silk behaves on a t-shirt
On a t-shirt it slides over the shoulders and falls close to the body, so the cut needs very little ease and buttonholes want a light interfacing.
At this length a fluid cloth swings at the hem with each step and settles back close to the leg.
It is neither warm nor cool, so it works across most of the year.
The finished piece is usually labelled dry clean only.
Water can spot it, sunlight fades it and perspiration weakens it over time, so it suits occasion pieces more than daily wear.
About silk
Silk is a protein fibre unwound from the cocoon of the silkworm, the only natural filament fibre. It is light, strong for its weight and has a lustre no other fibre matches.
Most silk is reeled in China and India, and much of the finest is woven and printed around Como, in Italy; its weight is quoted in momme, about 4.3 g/m² each.
A silk piece is often left unlined, or lined in silk habotai when a pale color has to be opaque.
Cutting, sewing and color
Use a fine 60/8 or 70/10 needle, French seams and a press cloth; pins leave marks, so pin inside the seam allowance.
It takes acid dyes deeply, which is why a silk color looks richer than the same shade on cotton.
Its high sheen catches every fold, so light it from the side and keep the background quiet.
A description to start from
A t-shirt in silk jersey, 90 to 140 g/m², with a fluid drape and a high sheen surface, for most of the year.
If silk is not quite right
- Heavier: Satin, in stretch satin
- Warmer: Velvet, in stretch velvet
- Easier to care for: Cotton, in cotton jersey
- More structure: Linen, in linen jersey
Also: how the studio works, prices and questions and answers.
Start free