From Baggy to Beautiful: Refashion a Button-Down Shirt

Hello everyone!  As you can tell, I'm not Stephanie, I'm Emileigh from Flashback Summer, and Stephanie has kindly allowed me to contribute a guest post for you guys!  I've been a follower of Steph's blog for a long time, and I love all the handmade clothing she comes up with.  (So adorable, am I right?!)  I also like to sew, so I thought I'd share a sewing DIY with you guys on how to refashion a too-large button-down shirt into a cute, vintage-style summer shirt.

The DIY will help you draft your own blouse pieces on the too-big button-down.  It's a bit long, but that's just because I tried to be really thorough and include a giant picture for each step!  (Pictures are my best friends in DIY projects.)

This idea is not uniquely mine; it was actually a very common practice "back in the day."  I've found refashion tutorials for men's button-downs from as far back as the 1920s, and the following tutorial is based off a 1940s blouse pattern.  Included in the pattern instructions was a tiny note in the corner of how to arrange them on a man's shirt for refashioning.  How great is that?!  Talk about sewing ingenuity!

Please note that the instructions will work well as a starting point, but much of refashioning depends greatly on the garment being refashioned.  I'd be happy to answer any questions you have in the comment section below!

For this tutorial, here are the supplies you'll need:

a button-down shirt (2-3 sizes too big for you will work best, and men's shirts or women's without bust darts are easiest to work with) - coordinating thread - pencil - bias tape - pins - measuring tape - scissors

Instructions:

1.  First, you'll need to take some of your own measurements to draw out the shirt pieces properly.  You'll need:

2.  Next, cut off the sleeves from the shirt.  This will make it easier to work with.  Flip the shirt inside out.  (For future reference, my shirt has a tiny interfacing patch on the inside, but it's nothing you need to repeat!)

3. Decide how wide you'd like your sleeves to be.  Using your shoulder measurement will bring the sleeve right along your shoulder cap.  (Increasing this measurement a little could make it look like more of a cap sleeve and could be good if you plan to add shoulder pads, for a 40s look, for example.)  Take this measurement and divide by 2; measure out this length from the center of the shirt along each shoulder seam. 
My calculation looked like this:  14 + 1 extra inch = 15 inches / 2 = 7.5 inches each side

4.  Fourth, measure your shoulder-to-bust length and mark with pins.

5.  Next, decide how much ease you would like at the bust.  I would recommend 1-3 inches for a comfortable fit (with non-stretch fabric).  Now add 1" total to account for a 1/2" seam allowance on each side (or more, if you prefer). Take this measurement and divide by 2, then center that measurement on the front of the shirt going through the bust apex pins.
For example, my calculation went like this:
32" bust + 1 inches ease + 1 inch seam allowance total = 34" / 2 = 17" across shirt front

6.  Now take your total length measurement and add 1/2" for a narrow hem (or more if you prefer and can fit it on the shirt!).  Measure this length out on both sides by starting at the shoulder, going through the bust apex pins, and drawing a line at the correct length.  Connect the two marks with a line.

7.  Seventh, draw a line from the bust + seam allowance marking made in step 5 straight down (or if your low waist measurement is larger than your bust, slightly outward to the end of that line on each side).  Extend your lines as necessary here and at the bottom hem line so that the two meet.

8.  Connect the shoulder dots and bust line with a curving line for an armhole.

9.  Cut out the shape you just created with all the lines.

10.  Now for darts/pleats!  Depending on your measurements, this will look a bit different, and you have some options. (It gets math-y here again, sorry!)
Decide how many darts you want and where.  (I put four in the front, but I would recommend 2-4 in front and 2 in back.)
Take your bust measurement and subtract your natural waist measurement.  The difference is the amount of cloth you have to take in at the waist, so divide it by the number of pleats you want.
My example:  32" bust - 24" waist = 8 inch difference
8" / 4 pleats = 2" per pleat
Now around 5-6" from the bottom of your shirt (near your natural waist, or where the shirt would be tucked in), evenly space your pleats/top of darts with marks.  The width of each dart/pleat will be the number you found above.

Now you're going to see how much the dart/pleat needs to narrow toward the bottom.  If your lower waist measurement is larger than your hips, end your dart at 1" above the bottom of your fabric.  If your measurement was smaller than your bust, do the same calculation as above but with your lower waist measurement instead of the natural waist.
My example: 32" bust - 28" lower waist = 4 inch difference
4" / 4 pleats = 1" per pleat
Measure this out at the bottom of your fabric like shown below. Connect the dots with vertical lines.  These are the sewing lines for the darts/pleats.

11.  Sew up all the darts/pleats and press toward the side seams! (I also zig-zagged all the edges at this point to keep them from fraying and to keep the pleats lying in the right direction.)

12. Sew up the side seams.

13.  Now finish the raw armhole edges with bias tape.  Use tape that is wide enough to easily manage and keep the fabric edge tucked inside.  Mine was a bit narrow for this (1/2" across), but I had it in my stash and made it work.  I'd recommend a larger width.

14.  Lastly, turn up your bottom hem 1/2" and sew!

And Voila!  You have a fitted, vintage-style shirt that will take you through summer and easily pair with cardigans for the colder months!