How To Alter a Man's Shirt to a Woman's Shape

I love that collared shirts are in style. They are versatile, comfortable, and can easily dress up a casual outfit. Unfortunately, however, I don't have many. And most that I do have are too short for today's style.  So I decided to hit the local thrift store in search of men's shirts (so they'd be nice and long) to alter to my needs. 

Here is the man-shirt pre-altering. I bought this on half-off at Goodwill for $3. Pretty big and shape-less, huh?  But it has good arm length and fun, unusual pockets, so I was hoping for some potential. It's important to choose a shirt that isn't way too big in the collar or arm-length because those are not easily altered.

Now on to the altering process. It is SO quick and easy. If you are a sewing rookie, this would be a good way to get your feet wet.

1. Turn the shirt inside out and flatten along the seam on the inside of the arm and torso. 

 

2. Use chalk to draw a smooth line along the seam the amount you'd like to take the shirt in. Blend the ends of your chalk line into the existing seams prior to the cuff and base of the shirt.  If you are unsure of how much to take in, lay a shirt that fits as you would like this one to, and trace along that shirt's outline.

3. Cut along the lines you drew.

4. Lay the piece you cut out from the first side along the opposite edge to use as a guide to draw another chalk line.

5. Cut along the chalk line.

6. Pin the edges together, being sure to line up the cross seams at the armpit. Sew the new edges closed, blending into the existing seams at each end. I used a serger, but if you don't have a serger, a zig-zag stitch outside your first straight stitch will help prevent fraying.

Here it is all sewn up, but still inside out. It actually looks like a woman's shirt now!

Now I have a "new" shirt! 

Go thrift-store shopping or raid your hubby's closet and enjoy!

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Straight to Pencil Skirt Tutorial

I admit it--I'm a bit of a slave to style. Not to the point of selling my soul to the devil or anything, but I have worn shoes that are much more cute than comfortable; I don't always wear my hair in a ponytail; and I wear pantyhose. 

My latest cave-in in the name of fashion is the pencil skirt. I have a closet full of skirts from the last 15 years. If I wear a skirt at least once during a year, I keep it. Several of my skirts are knee-length straight numbers I bought in college--mostly from The Gap and Old Navy. But, alas, straight is out; pencil is in. Luckily, so is plaid; so this skirt (circa: 1999), was just updated to the tiny-step ways of modern fashion!

Here's how I did it:

1. Put on the skirt. Stand in front of a mirror and pin the amount of excess skirt around the knees you would like trimmed. Once it is pinned, walk around a bit to make sure you are allowing enough range of motion.  Leave the pins in and carefully remove the skirt.

2. My skirt has a built-in liner. This feature scares some people away from making alterations. It is no biggie, I promise. My liner is only attached at the top. If yours is attached on the sides at all, you may need to cut the threads holding it to the outside of the skirt. This isn't a step, so much as something to be aware of before you proceed.

3. With chalk, draw an angled vertical line from just below your pins to about halfway up your skirt. It is important not to make any abrupt changes in the new seam (you don't want Oompah-Loompah hips). 

4. Carefully cut along the chalk lines of just the outside fabric of your skirt. Then, using the cut lines as a guide, carefully cut the excess liner fabric. 

**Tip: Cut front, then back on both outside and liner. Cutting both can leave an awkward angle at the seam. (I learned this the hard way.)

5. Using a seam ripper or small scissors, rip out the hem about 2 inches on each side along the edges you just cut (of the liner and the outside fabric). I did this step first, which wasn't harmful, but I ended up cutting out most of what I had ripped out. You'll need the hem out when you sew up the sides in the next step.

6. Turn the skirt inside out.  With right sides together, sew up the sides of the skirt liner, then the skirt. Re-hem the edges. My skirt required an invisible/blind hem stitch. For a good tutorial on how to do this, go to this tutorial. 

Voila! You are done! Super easy, eh?

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