Toni Top
Designer notes
Toni is a configurable t-shirt or top design that supports different sleeve styles:
Toni gives you the choice to create something that fits your body and your preferred style.
It has basic support for fitting large busts, bellies and bums. These special adjustments are only enabled if you provide the related optional measurements.
If you only supply the minimal measurements or if these adjustments aren’t deemed necessary, this will result in a shirt without these adjustments where front and back parts are the same below the armhole. (You can use this to save paper by only printing one part in full.)
I’ve tried to keep the options as simple as possible, and I’ve implemented some lessons I learned from making previous designs (especially Bibi):
- Keep the design simple
- Only add options for stuff that’s relevant
- Only add options for stuff that you actually can and want to test
- Don’t try to fit body measurements exactly if it results in strange shapes
Compared to the Teagan design, Toni by default is more fitted and has a more circular neck opening.
Teagan’s default settings follow a standard menswear t-shirt design (plus the slight boat neck), whereas Toni defaults to a somewhat fitted t-shirt design somewhere in-between a regular womenswear top and a semi-fitted menswear design.
You can (and should) adjust the options and ease values according to your preferences.
The following table lists common values according to the fabric you’re using and the intended fit.
| Chest ease | Waist ease | Seat ease | Suggested fabric type | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| > 20% | > 40% | > 25% | Heavy cotton jersey | Oversized, drapey and clearly away from the body. |
| 10% to 20% | 20% to 40% | 15% to 25% | Cotton jersey | Relaxed fit, hangs away from the body. Common in menswear t-shirts. |
| 5% to 10% | 10% to 20% | 10% to 15% | Light cotton jersey | Loosely fitted, follows the body outline without clinging. |
| 0% to 5% | 0% to 10% | 5% to 10% | Cotton jersey with spandex | Fitted, close to the body but not tight. |
| -10% to 0% | -10% to 0% | 0% to 5% | Cotton jersey with spandex, interlock | Very fitted, snug against the body. |
| -20% to -10% | -20% to -10% | -5% to 0% | Activewear knit, rib knit | Body-hugging with light compression. Common in ribbed tops and (compression) sportswear. |
You typically want to use a smaller range of ease for the chest ease, since that setting also affects the shape of the top near the shoulders and arms. Going too high will make the top oversized in a bad way, and going too low will make the fit too tight. Use about 15% for a relaxed look and about 5% for a fitted shirt.
You can use a larger range of ease values for the waist ease. Using around 30% will create a more drapey look that can, for example, hide a small belly. If you use values of 0% or lower, the fabric will be snug to your body, which can be useful for compression wear or to make an undershirt that doesn’t add bulk or wrinkles.
For the seat ease, choose something in the same general range of the waist ease. For large waist ease values, you can go a bit lower if you don’t want the hem to flare out. However, at the same time you don’t want it to be so tight that it rides up towards your waist.
Toni is extensible and can be used as a base for your custom designs.
Feel free to add color blocking or other accents to make the design more unique.
There are also some more patterns based on Toni:
- Bianca is Toni turned into a bodysuit or swimwear body.
- Hannah is Toni turned into a hoodie.
- Tina is Toni turned into a faux wrap top.