Tutorial: men's shirt to tie front shirt

My first men's shirt refashion! 1 down, 3 to go! It took me a whole afternoon to decide what I wanted to do with this shirt. And I finally decided on...a shirt! But sleeveless and smaller. And I thought the bottom would look awkward with just a regular hem so I made it a tie front. 


Here's how you can do it:


1. Cut off the sleeves. I initially just cut along the seam, then cut more later after I decided how narrow I wanted the shoulders to be.

2. Take in the sides. Turn the shirt inside out and sew along the sides so that the shirt will be more fitted to your body. If you have a shirt that fits you well, you can use it as a template. Or just try the shirt on and estimate how much you want to take it in. Except when I did this I made it too tight and had to use my trust seam ripper and start over. Therefore it's a good idea to use a basting stitch first. After the basting stitch, I went back over the seam with a zig-zag stitch since I don't have a serger. I also cut the excess fabric off with pinking shears as an additional measure to minimize fraying.

3. Cut and hem the bottom. For the front, leave two "tails" to be tied together when wearing the shirt. I outlined mine below because it was hard to see them in the photo. For the back, you can just cut straight across, or leave a rounded bottom. Again, you could use an existing shirt as a template but I just felt like freehanding it. 

To hem, make sure the shirt is inside out. Along all of the bottom, fold in 1/4", then another 1/4' to hide the raw edge. Sew with a straight stitch. Because of the curves, you'll probably have to do this a few inches at a time. This was the hardest part for me because I have yet to master pretty hems. 

4. Hem the armholes, just as you hemmed the bottom. Like I mentioned earlier, I ending up cutting more off after trying the shirt on and deciding on what looked best. My roommate Rachel advised me that the narrower the shoulder, the more flattering it will be for your arms. I never really noticed this, but I took her advice!

....ALL DONE!