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Monday, May 23, 2011

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 :)

8 comments:

  1. An inspiring re-fashion. I love the cuffs & the new buttons. Are they different colours?
    I think you should add the bow. As the shirt is oversized it needs something 'sophisticated' to steer it (even more) away from being slouchy. If you wear it with jeans I don't think it will look too girly/truttig at all.
    Would you be more comfortable with it if it were a flat bow? (if you made the bow part less wide so that it fits through the middle thingy without crinkles)

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  2. Thanks for your opinion! I think it's bows in general I'm not used to - yet. The buttons are the same colour, it's the light that makes it seem otherwise.

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  3. I liked what you did!
    Very inspiring.

    I do like the bow.

    Why not make the bow so that it can be taken off? when you don't want to use the bow you have that option.

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  4. I love the refashion, Lisa!
    And the little bow is perfect for it, I think. But 'anonymous' has a good idea, if you put it onto a safety pin, then you can wear it wherever or whenever you want :)

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  5. I think you should go with the bow -- It makes it look quite 'finished'. Also, I like it with the crinkle.

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  6. Indiscussably BOW! I love it! You're very inspiring. Wish you would teach me some inspiration, but I guess that's the one thing, that has to come from within :)
    Love your blog by the way :)

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  7. Thank you for your lovely comment! :D I wear this shirt all the time now, with bow!

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