Clover T-shirt and Bodysuit Sew-along

Welcome to the Clover Bodysuit and T-shirt sew-along! I'm so excited you are here taking on this project. I would say the Clover sewing would be considered more advanced, only because knit fabrics can be a little tricky to handle during the more detailed steps. But you can do it! 

I think the biggest thing to keep in mind when working on your Clover is to iron/steam seams back into place after stitching. The sewing tends to stretch the seams, but with a little ironing skills, it's easy to put things back into place. 

Let's dive in! This post is going to cover all the steps, so it's one-stop-shopping for your project.

1) With the wrong side of the neckline facing piece facing up, apply the interfacing to neckline facing piece first and then iron the bottom edge seam allowance up 3/8” (1cm).

2) With right sides together, sew the top edge of the neckline facing to the front body neck edge with 3/8” (1cm) seam allowance.

3) Understitch the seam allowance towards the facing side.

4) Working on the wrong side of the front, stitch the bottom facing edge through all layers to secure.

5) Trim off any facing edges that extend past the body so the edge is smooth.

6) Fold the back neckline trim in half the long way with wrong sides together. Iron flat.

7) Sew the neckline trim to the back neck edge with 3/8” (1cm) seam allowance (folded edge towards body). Suggest to slightly stretch trim to ensure a flat neckline.

8) Understitch the seam allowance towards the neckline trim. 

9) Fold the neckline trim down into neckline curve. Stitch the bottom edge through all layers. Trim away any excess neck trim length that extends past the shoulder edge. 

View B - Square Neck

10) Fold the top front shoulder in half with wrong sides together. Baste the armhole edges. Be careful not to stretch out of shape. 

11) Align the angled portion of the top front shoulder to the angled portion of the front body, matching notches. Sew together with 3/8” (1cm) seam allowance. Turn the shoulder piece upright, ensuring that the neckline will have a sharp corner. If it does not, you may want to remove stitching and re-align again. 

12) Iron the seam allowance upwards and topstitch 1/4” (.6mm) above the seam. Iron flat, ensuring everything looks smooth.

View A - Peekaboo Front

13) Put a mark or a pin on the facing piece to easily identify. Align the upper front and upper front facing. Sew lower edges together with 3/8” (1cm) seam allowance. 

14) Understitch the seam allowance towards the facing side. 

15) With right sides together, sew the upper front neckline edge to the upper front facing neckline edge. Turn right side out, carefully ironing flat, ensuring the facing is not visible. 

16) Baste the armhole edges together. 

17)  Align the upper front over top of the front, matching notches, and baste in place.  Trim off any edges that extend past the armhole curves.

All Views:

18) With right sides together, sew the front shoulder seam to the back shoulder seam with 3/8” (1cm) seam allowance. Repeat for the opposite side. 

19) Tack the shoulder seam allowance toward the back at the neck with a few back and forth stitches. 

20) With right sides together, align the sleeve cap to the armhole, matching notches. Sew together with 3/8” (1cm) seam allowance. Repeat for the opposite side.

21) With right sides together, sew the side seams with 3/8” (1cm) seam allowance starting from sleeve hem all the way to the bottom hip edge.

Bodysuit Legs

22) Apply the interfacing to crotch edges, on the wrong side. Then, on the right side of the leg openings, sew the elastic to the leg edge using a zig-zag stitch to allow for stretch. Do not stretch elastic.

23) Turn the elastic in towards the wrong side twice so elastic is encased. Stitch through all layers with a zig zag stitch.

24) Turnback bottom edge 1/4” (6mm) and then 1”. Topstitch through all layers for both the front and the back. 

25) Transfer snap markings on pattern pieces to the front and back crotch extensions. Position and attach your snaps so the back body goes over top of the front. 

26) Turnback the sleeve hems 3/4” (2cm) and sew with a stitch that will stretch. Repeat the same for the t-shirt view bottom hem.

Thanks so much for reading and following along!