Once or twice a year we go through our closets and donate bags and bags of clothes to the thrift store. Today’s project was pulled out of my husband’s donation bag almost 10 years ago! I’ve seen a few tutorials on Pinterest that showed how to alter a man’s shirt to fit a woman so I thought I’d try it.
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How to Alter a Man’s Shirt
- 2 shirts – the big shirt and one that fits
- tailor’s chalk
- fabric scissors
- sewing machine
- thread
- pins
- pin cushion
Before and After Photos
Here are the before and after photos:
This was a chambray shirt. I believe the fabric was a cotton/polyester blend. There was more than enough material to go around on this shirt!
How to Alter a Man’s Shirt
The first problem I faced was the shoulder seams. The shirt seam was a couple of inches past my actual shoulder. Instead of a ruler, I started by stretching out the man’s shirt on my table and laying one of my shirts over it to get the correct width. I used chalk to mark where I should cut.
NOTE: My photos didn’t turn out all that great. I used one of my chambray shirts to measure and blue tailor’s chalk. I wasn’t thinking about how everything would show up in a photo… I just got a lot of blue!
I cut along the chalk mark at the shoulder. Then I measured the sleeve against my shirt’s sleeve and cut off the excess material to create a new armhole.
Fold the shirt over to transfer the measurements to the other side so they will both be the same.
Next, I marked the side seams the same way, sewed them up, and trimmed away the extra.
Then I just set in the sleeves like I would if I was making it from scratch, using matching thread.
There was a more than enough material in the sleeves, too, so I trimmed them down along the seam, too. I didn’t change the cuffs — just moved the buttons. I usually wear my sleeves rolled up so that didn’t matter too much to me.
I did not change the collar, neckline, or waist but if you wanted a more fitted shirt you could add a pleat in the front or back or both.
It would also be a lot of fun to dye a shirt like this or add embroidery… maybe the next project!
More Infor About Thrift Store Clothes
- 10 Tips for Buying Thrift Store Clothes That Will Save You Time & Money
- How to Wash Thrift Store Clothes for Families with Sensitive Skin
- How to Make Frayed Hem Jeans from Thrift Store Clothing
More Tutorials to Tailor Shirts
Here are a couple of shirt-altering tutorials I found online with a lot more photos:
- How to Tailor a Blouse
- How to Re-fit a Button-down Shirt
- How to Tailor a Button-Down Shirt for a Woman
Hope you found this helpful and will go upcycle a shirt now! ‘Til the next project,
Ann @ Duct Tape and Denim
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MJ says
Just the tute I’ve been needing!
Men’s shirts are so much better quality than women’s tops in the same price range.
I’ve been living with shoulders a bit long, but now, maybe I can make ’em fit.
It’s amazing that I tun up the sleeves and the quality of my $25 shirts is so good, men complement me on them!
Karren Haller says
Oh goodness, I used to do all the different alterations to clothes, and loved wearing mens shirts especially a good stripe on. But I have not done this kind of thing for over 20 years. Gees where did that time go.
Thanks for visiting and linking on Friday Features this week,
Karren
xoxo
Sherry says
That turned out really nice! Thank you for linking with Home Sweet Home!
Sherry
Jann Olson says
How creative! My hubby is really tall and has long arms. I would have to do a lot of altering to fit me. lol! Thanks for sharing with SYC.
hugs,
Jann
Angela, blue i style says
What a great idea! I’m going to be raiding our donation bin for sure! Thanks for linking up at The Creative Circle! I hope you’ll join us again this week!
Pat Harvey says
Love your ideas on jewlery making but I also enjoy sewing gifts for family members.
Kyla Eigenmann says
My boyfriend shops more than I do and he has a lot of clothes just hanging in the cabinet for so long. He said he’s planning to throw them away, but I thought it would be such a waste to throw them. This is one helpful blog! Thanks for sharing! Keep us updated, please!
ducttapeanddenim says
Thanks so much! Hope your shirt makeovers turn out great!