Construction & Stitching

Single vs double stitch, seam finishes, and collar construction reveal when and how a garment was made.

Marker / Feature	Era / Value	Research Detail
Single stitch	Before 1994 Pre-1994	One row of stitching on hems and sleeves — the t-shirt industry standard through the 1980s and early 1990s.
Double stitch	1995–present 1995 onward	Two parallel rows of stitching; standard after manufacturing machinery advanced around 1994–1996.
100% cotton tee	1970s / early 1980s 1970s	Heavier-weight cotton, associated with 1970s and early-1980s screen printing.
50/50 blend	1980s standard 1980s	The soft, paper-thin polyester-cotton blend that dominated 1980s tees.
Mounted (set-on) collar	1960s indicator 1960s	A collar sewn on top of the body rather than underneath — a marker of 1960s tees.
French seam	Pre-1940s Pre-1940s	Raw edges fully enclosed; the standard from the early 1900s through the 1940s.
Pinked seam	1950s 1950s	Zig-zag-cut edges to prevent fraying — the dominant seam finish of the 1950s.
Serged / overlock seam	1960s–present 1960s onward	Overlocked edges; standard once the machinery became affordable for mass production.
Shuttle-loom woven label	Vintage marker Pre-1980s	Woven on traditional looms with finished, non-fraying edges. Modern woven labels are heat-cut on the sides.

9 entries — read top to bottom, oldest first