How to make a women's shirt from a men's shirt?

Virtually every man in the wardrobe has a pair of shirts that he never wears. This is usually either formal shirts purchased for a special occasion, or gifts that are not liked. Or, perhaps, the young man prefers to dress informally and a lot of shirts him to nothing.

Experienced needlewomen and zealous hostesses know that an unnecessary men's shirt is an excellent material for creating something new. From it you can sew household items, as well as new clothes for the child or for yourself.

Today we will tell you about how to give a new life to a men's shirt, turning it into a female one.

To alter a men's shirt in a women's blouse or shirt, you will need a standard set of sewing accessories, namely:

• cutting scissors;
• wax crayon, a piece of soap or a marker on the fabric (washable);
• tailoring meter;
• threads to match the fabric;
• needle;
• safety pins;
• sewing machine;
• overlock for edge processing (optional);
• material for inserts (if necessary).
• accessories and decor: buttons, braid, beads, elastic bands, etc. (optional).

If you attach a little imagination and remember the basics of needlework, then a plain, unremarkable men's shirt can be turned into a stylish piece of women's wardrobe. Read more about each of the possible modifications read below.

Most models of men's shirts have a straight or slightly fitted silhouette, so they sit very loosely on girls. Our task is to make the shirt effectively emphasize the figure, so you need to fit it properly.

To do this, we will take the following steps:

• reduce shoulder width;
• we will tuck under the chest line;
• tighten the sleeves;
• reduce the width of the shirt itself.

We are trying on a shirt, marking the place where the new sleeve armhole will be located. Draw an armhole and cut off the sleeves along the intended line. Then shorten the sleeves to the desired length and pin them back into place. The hole that remains in the armpit area, while you do not need to touch it, just try to make it as narrow as possible. Then we add sleeves to armholes.

Turning the product on the wrong side. We draw the contour of the future tuck - from the chest line to the sides of the shirt. Each side should have one triangle. We fold the darts along the contour and fix them with pins. Then we sweep and do the fitting: if the darts are in place, we sew the seams on a typewriter, cut off the excess fabric and iron the darts with an iron.

Re-turn and try on the shirt. Note how much you need to remove the width of the sleeves and shirt from the body. Lay out the product on a flat surface and draw new contours. Along the contours we cut off all the excess and cut the edges with pins. After fitting, sew on the machine and iron all seams.

Men's shirts are usually quite long, as they are designed to be tucked into pants. However, many girls prefer shorter models, barely reaching the hips. We will talk about how to make the men's shirt comfortable for you.

1. It is usually not enough to remove the extra length, almost always it is necessary to also make the shirt narrower, so first of all we strip the sleeves and unpick the seams on the sides. With sleeves we do the same as in the previous master class.
2. Then we outline the new contours of the shirt, draw the undercuts behind and in front. We fasten everything with pins and do a fitting. If the shirt fits, we sew off the seams on the machine, cut off the excess fabric and iron the tuck. After another fitting, sew the seams on the sides.
3. Narrowing the product, you need to determine its future length. To do this, try on the shirt again and mark the new length with a margin for processing the edge. We cut off the hem, bend and process the edge on a sewing machine or overlock.

If you are a fan of the cowboy style, and the unnecessary men's shirt in a cage turned out to be at your disposal, it's time to sew a new one for yourself in the spirit of the Wild West.

1. We make a fitting and design new contours of the product. Our shirt will have frills on the chest, so if in this place there are pockets or another decor that can interfere, it is better to break it off immediately.
2. Along the contours we cut the product with pins. If necessary, we do tuck under the breast, just as demonstrated in the first master class. Cut off all the excess, leaving a seam allowance.
3. Cut off the sleeves and draw a new armhole. Cut the sleeves to the desired length and sew to the armhole. If at the base they turned out to be too wide, you need to scrub them a little, adding extra volume.
4. Getting to the frills: from excess fabric cut several strips of the same size. Manually we sew each strip, then we stretch the thread so that the frill gathers into an accordion. Pin the ruffles to the shirt and sew on a typewriter using a zigzag stitch. We cut off the collar of the shirt - not all, but only the part that is above the rack. Instead, sew one of the frills so that it is located on the inside of the collar.

A true woman can look flirty and sexy even in a men's shirt. If you want to modify this item of clothing, to make it more feminine, we can advise you to sew a stylish top that reveals a shoulder line from a men's shirt.

• Try on a shirt, see how deep we want to cut. We make marks on the shoulders and chest. Lay out the shirt and draw the cutout outline. At the same time a few centimeters of fabric should be left on the edge.
• Cut off the upper part of the shirt on the contour. If necessary, we also remove excess length and shorten the sleeves.
• In the cut-off edges, we will sew a rubber band or elastic tape - this is how we will have a shirt in a rustic style, which is also called a “peasant woman”. Measure out and cut off the right amount of tape for the top, bottom and sleeves of the product. Sew on the tape on a typewriter, after stretching the fabric, so that later it gathered in beautiful ruffles.

You can turn a strict men's shirt into a flirtatious and elegant piece of women's wardrobe by slightly changing the shape of the sleeve. For example, volumetric lantern sleeves look very impressive. Transform the usual sleeve in the "flashlight" will not be difficult.

1. We remove the sleeves, but do not touch the seams on the shoulder girdle yet. Then we determine the desired length of the sleeves. Flashlights can be as very short, and quite long. We will make sleeves of medium length - slightly above the elbow.
2. Cut the sleeves to the desired length. Put them to the shirt and draw new contours of the armhole. Flashlights should be voluminous, so before you sew the sleeves to the armhole, you need to attach the upper part.
3. Turn over the sleeves so that the notches on the cuffs are on top, and sew them into place. We changed the location of the cut-outs in order to ensure greater freedom of movement for ourselves, otherwise it will be completely uncomfortable to bend our arms.
4. If the cuffs are narrow and it is difficult to fasten them, simply turn them up, carefully bend the fold and sew the buttons to a new place (stitches for this, as a rule, are already provided).

Experimenting with the decor, altering the men's shirt in the women's, you can endlessly. Virtually any structural element of the product can be changed beyond recognition - sleeves, collar, shoulder line, etc. For example, very beautiful and unusual look shirts with cutouts on the shoulders.

1. Try on a shirt, then lay it on the table and draw the contours of the cutouts. The cutouts should be the same, so after we cut one shoulder, fold the shirt in half and draw a second cut along the outline of the first one. Then we cut off the extra material.
2. The edges of the cuts should be processed. You can use any available method for this: walk over it with an overlock, brush over with a sewing machine or manually, or sheathe with a braid.

• If the shirt is so long that it completely covers your hips, it would be more appropriate to remake it in a shirt-cut dress that can be worn with jeans or leggings, and in hot weather - just like that.
• You can make a fashionable top for a free cut out of a men's shirt on the shoulder straps by completely cutting off the upper part of it and forming a V-neck, undoing the top buttons. Straps can be made from cut off excess fabric.
• Cutouts on the shoulders and upper chest are very relevant now. But if you are embarrassed to completely expose these parts of the body, add cutouts with openwork lace or guipure inserts. Material for inserts can be in tone shirt or a contrasting shade.
• You can also make an unnecessary men's shirt, besides a new dress for yourself,: a pillow case for a sofa cushion, an original kitchen apron, a stuffed toy and many other useful things in the house.