How to make a fitted shirt out of an ordinary shirt. How to alter a men's shirt: ideas and workshops

If you buy a shirt without first trying it on, it may turn out to be a little too big. Some stores accept returns, but you can try sewing in a shirt and adjust it yourself.

Sewing a shirt yourself: video

How to sew a shirt with your own hands?

If the purchased men's or women's shirt turned out to be large, do not rush to throw it away or give it away, because it can be easily taken in. You can give too much thing to a special studio and entrust the work to professionals. If you sew well yourself, then you should try to sew it in at home on your own. This way you can save a lot of time and money. On average, sewing a shirt with the help of an atelier costs about 500 rubles.

To properly narrow your shirt at home, you will need:

pins
centimeter
sewing machine
threads
needles

First, turn your shirt inside out. wrong side, and then put it on the future owner. With the help of pins, you need to pin the fabric in such a way that the shirt sits perfectly. To do this, it is recommended to fix side seams and sleeves, as well as slightly raise the line of the shoulders.

Sleeves may need to be trimmed in some cases

Next, you need to remove the shirt as carefully as possible, since all the pins may fall out and the previous step will be useless. Then you need to carefully put the clothes on the table and find out how many centimeters and where you pinned up. In the event that on different sides shirts turned out to be completely different results, you need to calculate the average number between them, it will tell you how many centimeters you need to take in a shirt. All measurements are best recorded on a pre-prepared sheet of paper.

Sewing your own shirt

The next step is to rip the shirt along the lines of the shoulders and the seams on the side. You will also need to rip the sleeve. In the event that its length needs to be reduced, it will be necessary to flog the cuff, cut it out right amount fabric and then stitch it back. With a short and wide sleeve, you can simply alter all the buttons located on the cuffs.

Next, you will need to get rid of excess fabric at the seams located on the side. This operation involves a reduction in the length of the shoulders. Using the measurements made earlier, you need to shorten the shoulder to achieve the required length. The most difficult thing will be to sew a new armhole to the sleeve, but the most profitable solution is to sew in the sleeve to about the same length as the armhole itself.

Question from Galina:

I have a fitted shirt with short sleeve, which I practically did not wear because of the shallow armhole, and now it is still too tight for me. Can you give me some advice on what to do with it. There is no stock in the seams.

On the photo is Galina's shirt

Reply from Hope:

Hello Galina.

The shirt can be expanded at the side seams by inserting any natural (non-synthetic) webbing or tape that you can choose from the huge range of colors available on the market.

The sleeve is arranged according to the same principle. To do this, you will have to rip the shirt along the side seams. Separate the sleeve along the armhole 5-6 cm from the side seam in both directions. Overcast the side seams of the shirt and sleeves. Sew the tape with a seam into the overlay. Same thing with the sleeve. Connect the sleeve to the armhole and overcast.

This method will give you a one size spread, so the tape that you will insert should not exceed two cm, because. we connect with a seam into an overlay (this is important). It will turn out very beautifully and it will not be visible that the shirt has been redone :).

What to do with husband's shirts that he no longer wears? It’s a pity to throw them away, but I also don’t want to shift them from place to place.

In fact, there are a lot of options - children's clothing, aprons, and much, much more. But today we will focus on remaking a men's shirt into a women's one. We offer you four sewing workshops women's blouse from a men's shirt, as well as a few additional ideas - how to change men's shirt.

Men's clothing is usually larger than women's. Therefore, any alteration, which consists in reshaping menswear so that it fits well on a woman will be associated with the need to reduce clothing in size. Should be especially tight next area: shoulders, sleeves, torso.

The only exception would be the chest area. Men's shirts are shapeless in front. Women, on the contrary, usually have a recess or some kind of fold under the bust, creating a bend. In any case, we will need to make undercuts for the chest so that the shirt has the right curves if you are sewing for female silhouette. It will be easier if you first make grooves, and then narrow the torso area.

Option one:

To remake a men's shirt so that it fits well on a woman, you need to complete three tasks:

Make the width from shoulder to shoulder narrower;
Make darts under the bust so as to get roundness in the bust area;
It is necessary to narrow the sleeves and the body of the shirt itself

Step one - narrow your shoulders:

1. Put on a shirt and mark on it where your shoulders end.

2. Take off your shirt. Draw a curve from the shoulder mark to the armpit, under the original seams in the sleeve. Fold the shirt in half and cut along the drawn lines, folding both sleeves together to make one length.

3. Turn the shirt and both sleeves inside out. Lay the right sleeve on the right side of the shirt and the left sleeve on the left side. The button holes on the cuff should be at the bottom.

4. Pin the sleeves back with pins. Do this by matching the top of the sleeve with the seam on the shoulders and the seam of the sleeve with the seam on the shirt. The right sides (outer side of the shirt) should face each other.

You will have a hole in the armpit area, because the length of the sleeve is shorter than the opening for the sleeve of the shirt. Just fasten the sleeves to the shirt so that the hole is as small as possible.

5. Sew the sleeves to the shirt.

Step two - make tucks:

1. Turn your shirt inside out and put it on. Draw a curved line just below the bust and up to the side of the shirt. This will be the tuck.

If you notice that the tuck is going into your shirt pocket, either tuck the tuck below the pocket, or remove the pocket altogether to begin with.

2. Using a ruler, extend the line to the very edge of the shirt.

3. We need to transfer the tuck to the other side of the shirt. If you are using chalk, simply fold the shirt in half and draw the line to the other side. If you want everything to be as accurate as possible, then take the following measurements:

a) The horizontal width from the top of the tuck to the side of the shirt;

b) The length of the side of the shirt from the arm hole to the horizontal line I drew in the first step.

c) The length of the side of the shirt from the opening for the sleeve to the end of the tuck. As you can see, I got: 1) 17 cm; 2) 5 cm; 3) 23 cm. Use this data to draw an identical tuck on the other side of the shirt.

4. Mark the darts with pins.

5. Sew the darts right below the line you drew with the ruler. How much lower is up to you. The basic rule is this: the smaller your chest, the closer to the line you should sew.

6. Turn inside out right side inside out shirts and measure. If you're happy with the darts you made, turn the shirt inside out again and cut off any excess material that is above the darts line. Iron the seams of the darts.

Step three - narrow the torso and sleeves:

1. Turn your shirt inside out and put it on. Mark where your waist line runs, and then mark where you have backside hands. Always measure with a margin, if necessary, the shirt can be narrowed a little more, but you can’t increase it back.

2. Take off your shirt. Draw a straight, slightly curved line across your sleeve from armhole to cuff. Then draw a curve from the armhole to the bottom of the shirt. The widest part of the curve is the mark that marks your waist. Cut off.

3. Pin with pins, marking the seams of the armhole and cuffs of the sleeves. Mark the torso with pins, starting from the opening of the armhole. Due to the darts, the back of the shirt will be longer than the front.

4. Stitch. Try to leave armhole seams and darts seams open.

5. Iron all seams, measure. If you want the front and back of the shirt to be the same length, hem the back.

I tuck my shirt into my jeans so it's not a problem for me. You can also cut the sleeves and re-sew them if they are too long.

Or make a summer shirt out of a winter shirt, cutting off the sleeves completely or leaving them short. Do this before you roll up the sleeves.

If you can really find long shirt(longer than the middle of the thigh), you can easily remake it into a dress.

Option two

A plaid shirt is a classic, it is present in the wardrobe of almost every girl. We offer you a way to remake a men's plaid flannel shirt big size adding feminine accents to it.

So, let's begin.

Lay out and examine the shirt to understand how it should change after cutting off the excess. The larger the shirt, the more fabric you will have to work with to create the frills. Also from big shirts you can get more puffed sleeves. Remove the pockets that are where you are going to place the frills.

Turn the shirt inside out, it should fit you well. Pin the side seams on both sides to give the shirt a silhouette. To make the shirt fit better, add small undercuts for the bust on both sides. Carefully cut the fabric, leaving 16 mm from the pins - seam allowance. Outline the opening of the armhole or draw with chalk directly on the fabric.

To make the ruffles on the chest, cut five strips from the remaining excess shirt fabric, measuring it so that 1 part of the width is 16 parts of the length. Sew each section lengthwise using a basting stitch. Gently pull on the thread to create a frill effect.

Attach the ruffles to the front of the shirt with pins, then sew with a zigzag stitch. For this alteration, I decided not to hem the edges in order to achieve a worn effect.

Cut off the collar of the shirt where the stand begins. Sew the fifth ruffled stripe to the inside of the collar stand.

In order to correctly determine the length of the sleeve, put on a shirt and pin the sleeves with pins to the length you need. If the shirt is big enough, you can get pretty puffy sleeves that won't pinch your biceps. Gather excess fabric at the bottom of the sleeve to make puff sleeves.

At the end, hem the bottom of the shirt, having decided on the length you need and iron all the seams.

Option three

1. First, let's take a regular men's flannel shirt, which will be at least two sizes larger than yours. From the excess fabric, which will come from the sides of the shirt and the bottom of the sleeves, we will make frills (note the dotted line in the picture).

2. Cutting along dotted line, You should receive four pieces of fabric in the shape of a crescent.

3. You will need to collect the edges of the cut fabric, thereby making frills.

4. Sew the frilled edges of the fabric pieces along the button and collar line. If you want, you can sew 2 rows of ruffled cuts on each side and use all 4 pieces of cut fabric to make the shirt more interesting.

Things to consider when making a dress out of a shirt: You can make a stand-up collar by folding it in half, or fold it in or out, and then sew it on. It would be better if you hemmed the outer edges of the frills, this will save them from excessive wear in the wash. On one shirt, I tried to sew the collar only on the outer edges of the frills, but because of this, the fabric became too thin and the frills did not hold their shape well.

Option four

Another option is to change a large size men's shirt into a women's blouse.

First, cut off the sleeves and rip the side seams, leaving shoulder seams untouched.

We fasten the sides of the shirt with pins to place the undercuts in the right place. Then we sew the tucks where they should be and smooth them out. Now is the time to try on the shirt and make sure all the darts are in place, if not, you will have to re-rip and re-sew the shirt to get everything in place.

After trying on, when you made sure that all the darts are located where necessary, we sew the side seams of the shirt. We measure the length of the shirt on ourselves from the shoulder to the bottom, and transfer these measurements to the shirt. Then we cut the hem of the shirt to the desired length.

We measure the length of the sleeve from the shoulder to the elbow and cut along the line corresponding to the new seam. After that, we pin the sleeve to the shirt with pins and mark the new armhole with chalk.

In this model, sleeves are lanterns, so we will assemble upper part thread before pinning to the shirt. After that, we pin them with pins and sew them back to front. This means that the cuff slit will now be at the front instead of at the back, allowing for more free movement.

Obviously, the cuffs were too small to easily fasten them at the elbow, so we fold them and iron them before sewing them to the stitches that were already on the cuff.

It may not be visible in the photo, but on each sleeve, there are two holes for buttons, so, if desired, you can use cufflinks.

Sew the extra buttons that were left on the cut off bottom of the shirt onto these extra buttonholes to make the shirt more designer.

Ideas: how to remake a men's shirt

We offer you a few more ideas for converting a men's shirt into women's clothing:

We wish you creative success!

Share comments on the proposed ideas and master classes, and offer your options.

Read about what can be made from old jeans.

When buying shirts without first trying them on, only according to the given markings on the product, it may later turn out that this thing too big or narrow. If you like the chosen model, and you want to wear it, the tailors offer to sew in a shirt. After a short procedure, by making the thing a size smaller or larger, given clothes It will be possible to wear again and combine with your favorite parts of the wardrobe.

How to sew a shirt down a size?

Before you start sewing, you need to prepare workplace and tools:

well-lit table;
centimeter tape;
scissors;
pins;
threads (to match the shirt);
needles.

How to fit?

The advantage of shirts classic cut in that they can be easily transformed using the most simple circuits sewing.

A popular method to fit a shirt is the formation of undercuts at the back. This option is only suitable if there is no central fold on the back of the shirt. It can be found in all American clothing models. Such models should be adjusted to the figure in a different way.

For example, changing the width of a shirt using the side seam brace. In this case, the selected clothing, as in the case of a general sewing of a shirt, requires trimming of the material. It is necessary to put the model on the owner and mark with pins the places where you want to stitch the material. Then the product falls under the hands of the master, where it is required to sew a seam into one needle and overcast it. It is very difficult to cope with such a task yourself, especially without any sewing experience. The problem is that single needle sewing requires a lot of practice, so only an experienced tailor can do it.

In this video you will learn several options for sewing in a men's shirt:

How to shorten sleeves?

It is not uncommon for all shirt models to fit perfectly in width, do not hinder movement, but have one nuance: long sleeves.

The easiest way is to alter the cuff. First you need to flog them and put them aside, and cut the remaining fabric along desired length. But the procedure does not end there. Then you need to change the elbow seam on the shirt. The length of the cuff should be equal to the width of the sleeve. Only then can the cuff be sewn back in.

But you can also do this from above - through the armhole, which is identical in time, since you also need to narrow the sleeves and fit the armhole to the size.

To shorten the sleeve in this way, a machine is required. Only with its help can the side seam be sewn securely.

But the peculiarity of the sleeves is precisely that they are easy to reduce, but it is impossible to increase them.

If your favorite wardrobe item, a classic or fitted shirt, has suddenly become too large, then making it smaller will not be big problems for a professional tailor. Inexperienced people will need a lot of time and effort to do everything neatly and competently.

Quite often we buy things without trying them on, and only when we bring them home do we realize that we have done something stupid. Most often, such a purchase is not suitable in size and simply goes to the closet. In fact, it is not necessary to do so at all.

If you show a little patience, you can easily fit the wrong thing in size. In our article, we will try to tell you how to sew a shirt at the waist at home, shorten its length and adjust the armhole.

How to sew in, alter a shirt for men and women a size smaller?

We alter the shirt for men and women to a size smaller

As practice shows, even a novice needlewoman can easily cope with such a task. All you need to do in this case is to correctly outline the excess material, which will eventually have to be cut off. Therefore, make sure that you have 15-20 pins and sharp scissors on hand.

So:

At the initial stage, you will need to turn the shirt inside out and put it on the person who will subsequently wear it. The thing should be as well straightened on the body as possible and be sure to fasten all the buttons.
Next, pick up the pins and begin to carefully lay the fabric along the entire seam. If you need to take in the sleeve, then similarly reduce it. During this procedure, always make sure that the new stitched seam is as even as possible. If you capture more material in one place and less in another, then in the end the shirt will deform when worn.
After the new line of the silhouette is set aside, you will need to remove the shirt from the person, sew new seams, and then carefully cut off all the excess. To prevent the fabric from crumbling during wear, be sure to overcast its edge with a sewing machine.
At the final stage, you will need to thoroughly steam all the seams with an iron and the shirt can be worn.

How to sew a men's and women's shirt at the waist?

We sew men's and women's shirt at the waist

There are two ways to sew a shirt at the waist. If you bought a product from European manufacturers with a seam in the center of the back bar, then you will have to suture the sides. It will be possible to do this in the same way as we taught you a little higher, just in this case the seam will be made to the line of the sleeve, and he himself will remain untouched.

Yes, and in this case, the new seam does not have to be perfectly straight. If you want to create the maximum fitted silhouette, then you can make it slightly arched.

So:

Turn the product inside out and put it on a person or a special mannequin
Starting from the very bottom of the seam, start pinning the fabric in such a way that you get a barely noticeable rounding in the waist area.
Pin the fabric in this way about 10-15 cm above the waist line
Make sure you get it at the top smooth transition from new seam to old
Stitch everything with a machine, cut off all excess and overcast the fabric

If there is no aforementioned seam in the middle of your product, you can try to sew in a shirt at the waist with the help of darts. In this case, you will simply need to put the shirt on the person, and then form 2 small recesses on its back just above the waist area. After this is done, make sure that the product lies perfectly and you can safely stitch them.

How to sew in a men's and women's shirt on the sides?

We sew men's and women's shirts on the sides

In case you don't have the opportunity to put the shirt on the one who will wear it, then try to sew it in on the sides in a slightly different way. True, remember that in this case you will also need to know the exact parameters of the body of a man or woman.

In view of this, be sure to measure them in advance with a sewing centimeter. You will need to measure the circumference of your chest and waist. If the shirt is long, then it will also be necessary to take into account the size of the circumference of the hip line. After you receive all the data, proceed to the main work.

So:

Lay the product on a flat surface and mark the new dimensions
Using chalk or a bar of soap, draw lines for the new side seams.
Pin the fabric in these places with pins
Sew along the seams, then use scissors to remove excess fabric.
Overcast the fabric and you can start ironing the shirt

How to sew in a men's and women's shirt in the shoulders with and without steaming?

How to sew on a shirt without steaming:

Put a shirt on a person and, using a sewing meter, measure what should be the distance from the collar to the extreme line of the shoulder
Draw a line in this place and you can take off your shirt
Lay it out on the table and use chalk to draw the future seam (to the edge of the armpit line)
Gently fold the product exactly in half, and then cut the fabric along the drawn line
If you did everything right, then in the end you will have separate sleeves and the main part of the shirt on your table.
The next step is to chop all the pieces together.
Keep in mind that the holes for the sleeves are now larger than they were, so try to chop everything in such a way that you do not have large holes.
If necessary, you can make one tuck from the inside of the sleeve
After connecting all the parts together, stitch them and the product will be ready to wear.

A way to sew a shirt in the shoulders with steaming:

Using a meter, determine what the length of the shoulder should be
Put the result on the fabric and draw a line parallel to the seam of the sleeve
Check if the lines are symmetrical
Next, carefully open the side seams and ruffle the sleeves.
Lay the product on the table and cut off the excess fabric
In the next step, first chop off the side seams, and then connect the sleeves and the resulting openings
Sew everything with a double stitch and carefully smooth

How to sew in the armhole of the sleeve of a men's and women's shirt?

If you need to sew in an armhole, then first you will need to rip off the sleeves from the main product. After this is done, put on a shirt and see how many centimeters you have to reduce the opening. Next, take a needle and thread and stepping back from the edge of the seam of the sleeve to the desired distance, lightly sew the fabric in one place.

Double-check whether the size of the armhole is correct and you can sew along the seam. After the opening is reduced, you can proceed to sewing on the sleeve. More detailed advice you can see the armhole stitching in the video posted a little higher.

How to sew in the sleeves of a men's and women's shirt?

Sewing up a shirt sleeve

If you need to sew in the sleeves by literally 3-5 mm, then you can simply turn them inside out, lay them out so that the inner seam does not deform the fabric, and then carefully measure the desired distance and draw a line along which the new seam will pass. Yes, and remember, if you need to remove 3 mm, then you need to set aside only 1.5 mm from the old seam. Since the fabric will be cut off on both sides, in the end you will get the desired 3 mm.

After the line is drawn, you will have to chop it with pins and stitch a new seam. If you have to remove a lot, then you will need to reduce not only the sleeve itself, but also the armhole into which it is attached. In order to sew in the opening, you will have to slightly open the side seam under the sleeve, cut off all the excess, and then carefully sew everything back.

How to shorten the sleeves of men's and women's shirts with cuffs?

If you need to shorten the sleeves of a shirt with cuffs, then proceed as follows:

First, measure the length of your arm from the shoulder to the line of the hand
If you like the sleeve to go a little on the brush, then add 5 mm to the data obtained.
Next, take a sewing meter and take measurements of the sleeve
Mark on it the line to which the cuffs will subsequently be transferred
Take small scissors and carefully trim the cuffs
Using scissors, cut the fabric along the previously drawn line.
Next, attach the cuff to the sleeve and see how much it needs to be taken in.
Sew the sewing along the existing seam, and then attach to the sleeve of the cuffs

How to shorten a men's and women's shirt in length?

Shorten men's and women's shirts in length

Shortening a shirt in length is considered the most simple process. In this case, you can do without sewing machine. Since there is no load on such a seam, you can simply take the thinnest possible needle and hem it with neat small stitches.

So:

Put on a shirt and figure out how much fabric you need to remove.
Mark this place with chalk or soap
Take off your shirt and lay it out on the table
Measure with a meter how many centimeters of material you need to cut
From the data obtained, subtract 1-1.5 cm and set aside one continuous line along the entire bottom of the shirt
Cut off the excess fabric, and then use pins to pin a new seam.
Stitch it and iron it