All those complaining about "fitted" tees - I'm going to let you in on a VERY carefully-guarded secret...
Someone invented two MIRACULOUS items - called "Needle" and "Thread"!!
Even better, someone figured out how to combine the two with some voodoo-machinery, and made something called a "sewing machine"!!
/snark...
Jokes aside, a PERFECTLY servicable sewing machine can be had for under $80 at any "big-box" store.
I've always had trouble buying shirts that fit - if they fit my chest and shoulders they're a mile too big in the waist, and pants are *ALWAYS* too long!
I used to spend almost as much getting a dress-shirt altered to fit me as I did buying them!
Then I wised up, and thought "if SHE can do it, *I* can figure it out!!
I also applied a bit of "man-genuity" to the whole thing, and came up with a pretty simple way of getting it done!
Needs:
- Cardboard as big as your torso
- "dressmaker's chalk" (or a pencil, or if you're brave a fine-point sharpie)
- scissors or razor-knife
- stapler
- sewing stuff...
Start with the best-fitting shirt you have.
You *MIGHT* want to consider paying to get ONE shirt tailored - then you can use it as a template to do the rest yourself~!
Lay it flat on the cardboard and "trace" the torso profile. don't be afraid to "tweak" it a little to correct any spots that still don't fit you perfectly!
Cut out the cardboard "torso" - this is going to be your outline/template for fixing all the others! I included "arms" on mine to help with positioning the template on the ones I alter...
Now turn your "target" shirt inside-out and lay it out flat. Position your template on it and trace the lines -- this is where you're going to sew...
I found it best to use the stapler to staple the "excess" to keep the shirt-layers lined up properly...
Once you've got your side-lines traced, staple down the OUTSIDE of the line - this will keep it straight while you sew...
Then just sew down the line you drew, and ....
Viola!
A PERFECTLY form-fitted shirt, made just for you!
Put it on, inside-out, to test the fit -- if it's not perfect, just (CAREFULLY!) cut out the stitches and try again!
Pro-tips...
Most machines will do a stitch that looks a lot like the "binding" on the original shirt-seam. It's not really intended for that, but it WILL work! All you need to do is use a VERY sharp pair of scissors, and **VERY** CAREFULLY (!!) cut down the outside edge of the "seam" when you're ready to cut off the excess... You want to remove ALL the cloth, but be SUPER careful not to cut the thread or the whole thing will be ruined!
I might just make a YT video about this - it would be my first, but I think it would be a good one!
Don't be intimidated - this really isn't all that hard!
Buy the machine at wally-world, try it out on an old junk shirt, and if you can't make it work then just take the machine back!
The reality is that once you've fixed and worn one or two, you'll want to do them all!
Wearing custom-tailored clothes makes you look AND FEEL like a million bucks - and knowing you did it YOURSELF makes it even better!!
Feel free to e-mail me if you have any questions or I can help - it's Dedicated_Dad at Yahoo!
