Men's shirt Refashion

The conversation went like this: Me: You don't need this anymore, do you? Stef: Hm, I don't know Me: It doesn't suit you very well anyway Stef: Well, I guess not then And thus, a very nice light blue gingham shirt was mine! Muhaha, evil plans are the best. As you can see some work needed to be done. I wanted to keep a loose fit because the fabric is perfect for it: light and supple. And I love how oversized shirts are comfortable without being sloppy. I took in between pics this time, so I can explain what I did.

I started with chopping off the collar and the sleeves at the seams. Chopping them off only works if you have enough fabric left for new seams. I was careful with the collar, taking it off cm by cm, until it had the right shape, indicated by the pink line. The front pocket was too big and at the wrong place, so I took it off.


I wanted the sleeves to fall right below the elbow so I took them in at the top, about 10 cm including seam allowance. Be sure to follow the curve of the armhole when tracing the line. The shoulders were also too big. To keep the size of the armholes, trace a horzontal line from the bottom of the armhole to the point where it meets the line you trace around the armhole. This point automatically indicates how much to take in at the sides. In this case, it was about the same as I had wanted to take in at the sides, but I don't know if that will always be the case.

I really like how the cuffs turned out. I sewed the plackets together, removed the buttons and folded the cuff up. I topstitched the cuffs so they would stay in place, and show their round shapes. Instant removal of the masculinity of this shirt! The sleeves already had some pleats on the outside which now give it some body. I replaced the button on the placket with a shiny , slightly bigger blue one which covers up the buttonhole.

A few other things I like about this shirt: French seams! It's the first time I used them, and it's so easy and neat! I'm thinking the green skirt could really use some french seams, maybe I'll have to do a remake of that one. I found Tasia's tutorial very helpful. And check out the label. Sorry for chopping up your shirt, Master Shirtmaker! But thank you for choosing a non-iron fabric :)


And now, the endresult! I'm really happy with how the shirt turned out, but I do need your help on deciding: left or right? I made a small bow out of the pocket, to add something at the neckline. I think it suits the shirt, but does it suit me? (You'll understand this question if you've read this post) What do you think?


P.S. The hat's purpose is to cover up a bad hairday, it's not like I wear it all the time :)