A crewneck sweatshirt is a tee with three rib bands instead of one: the neck, the cuffs, and the waistband. Maelo's crewneck modeler exports Body Front, Body Back, Sleeve, Neckband, two Cuffs and a Hem Band. Get comfortable applying rib and the whole garment falls into place. Metric-first, with imperial in brackets.

At a glance

  • Difficulty: intermediate.
  • Time: 2.5–3 hours once cut.
  • Seam allowance: 1 cm (3/8") throughout.
  • Stitch & needle: ballpoint/jersey needle; overlock or narrow zigzag for seams. Rib bands cut on the Maelo pattern already account for the fold — they are sewn on doubled, so the panels carry no hem.

Tools & materials

  • Body Front, Body Back and Sleeve from your main loopback/fleece.
  • Neckband, two Cuffs and a Hem Band cut from rib (2×1 or 2×2). Each rib band is cut shorter than the edge it finishes so it grips: roughly 85–90% for the neck, snug for cuffs, ~90% for the waistband.
BODY FRONTBODY BACKSLEEVE ×2NECKCUFF ×2HEM BAND
FIG. 1 — Body + sleeve + three rib bands

1 · Shoulders, sleeves, sides

  1. Join the shoulders (Front to Back), finish, press to the back.
  2. Set the sleeves into the armholes flat, matching notches; finish and press to the sleeve.
  3. Close each side and underarm in one continuous seam from cuff edge to hem. Finish and press to the back.

At this point you have a sweatshirt with raw neck, cuff and hem openings — ready for rib.

2 · Neckband

Join the Neckband into a loop, fold lengthwise (wrong sides together) and press. Quarter the band and the neck opening, pin at the quarters, and stitch the band on while stretching it to fit. Press the seam into the body.

3 · Cuffs

  1. Join each Cuff into a loop and fold lengthwise, wrong sides together.
  2. Slip the cuff over the sleeve end, right sides together, raw edges aligned, matching the seams.
  3. Stitch all the way round, stretching the cuff to the sleeve. Finish and press towards the sleeve.
SLEEVE / BODY OPENINGFOLDED RIB — CUT SHORTERSTRETCH TO FIT, STITCH ROUND
FIG. 2 — Cuff / band — folded rib applied to a round opening

4 · Hem band (waistband)

The Hem Band finishes the bottom exactly like a giant cuff: join into a loop, fold lengthwise, quarter against the body hem, and stitch on while stretching to fit. Finish and press up into the body.

BODY (TOP) · RIB HEM BAND, FOLDED + STRETCHED (BOTTOM)
FIG. 3 — Hem band — the waistband rib closes the garment

Give every rib seam a firm press towards the body. Even rib tension at the neck, cuffs and waist is what makes a crewneck look bought rather than home-made — uneven stretch is the giveaway.