I was given a lovely second-hand Armani short sleeve shirt which was pretty much my size but found I wasn’t wearing it as it was a bit too formal and the sleeves not that flattering so I made a few easy adjustments:
- cut two inches off the sleeves and added elastic
- removed collar and added bias binding to make v neck
- shortened front hem by 1-2”
Photos below are a mini-tutorial on how to insert the elastic in the ends of the sleeves.
I’m quite happy with the result and think I’ll get much more wear out it now
Charity shops can be a great source of excellent quality shirts - the charity shops near me certainly have loads and loads or perhaps a member of your family has an old shirt sitting in the wardrobe unused for years.
My Shirt to Stockbridge Top and Barra Button Back Top patterns have full instructions to turn any large shirt into a top.
The Stockbridge Top pattern has loads of options - sleeves/no sleeves/cute cuff sleeves, collar/no collar/ruffle collar and with or without a ruffle - the choice is yours!
However, if you can find a shirt that more or less fits you, there are some quick and easy adjustments that you can make to transform a shirt.
Great for the environment to be using existing clothes instead of buying new. Also the big bonus is you don’t need to do the buttonholes yourself, happy days!
