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Tailoring a man's shirt

I'm 6'6 tall, 35" waist and take a 42" jacket so you could say a bit tall and skinny! I've found a source of extra long sleeved shirts at a good price but they only come in "loose" fit. In particular I've got a pleated front dress shirt that I want to wear soon.

The shirt fits OK at the shoulders but is baggy around the waist with loads of material flapping about there and under the arms. If I open my arms out wide I feel like I might take off in a strong wind!

Does anyone know how much allowance/ease there should be in addition to my measurements?? e.g. If I've got a 35" waist how wide should the shirt be at the waist? Same question for the chest too I guess.

The other problem area is the shoulders. The sleeve hem is maybe an inch or a bit more more off the bone of the shoulder and it looks like I'm wearing a size too big. Is this normal or should the hem be right at the top? Can I take off the sleeves, cut the width down and resew??

Any other advice?! I've used a sewing machine before but never for anything as adventurous as this! I know it sounds like I needs a smaller sized shirt but then the neck is too small!

Thanks

Steve

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adder
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Steve, This info comes from

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looks about right to me.Fitted shirts have 1 1/2" - 2 1/2" wearing ease through the chestClassic or standard shirts can have up to 3" wearing ease through chestPants have 3/4" - 1" wearing ease at the waistlinePant have 1 1/2" - 2" wearing ease through the seat.Pants have a minimum of 1"wearing ease through the thigh They don't give the waist for shirts, do they? I'd allow the same 3" ease at the waist (Remember, even you skinny guys expand a little bit at the waist when seated). You might want to pin the extra out (or baste it) and wear the shirt around for 1/2 hour or so, and see how you like the fit before you cut and sew.

Investigate making your own shirts, Kwiksew has a men's dress shirt pattern that allows any size neck w/ any chest. Very neat.

The guy I sew for is 6'4", 50" chest, 38 waist, and 18" neck. I find that when I make things for him I use the size that fits his neck and alter to make the rest fit.

liz young

Reply to
Elizabeth Young

Tailoring a man's shirt

Reply to
sewingbythecea

Which Kwik sew pattern is this? I have similar issues when sewing for my husband who has a large neck and shoulders, but narrow waist.

Loreen

Reply to
Loreen Robbins

Whatever you want it to be. Get out the pins (baste those pleats closed before you try things on) and start pinning. When you're happy, move around and see if you need more ease, or if you're still happy. Then sew. You can reshape the side seams, and/or add fisheye darts to the back of the shirt. Take the basting back out of the pleats when you're done.

Shirt sleeve seams are "dropped" off the point of the shoulders anywhere from 1/2" to 3", but about 1" is conventional. If you try to pull it back up to the shoulder, the sleeve will hang funny because it's 1) not the right shape at the top of the sleeve and 2) not the right shaped armhole to be a set-in sleeve (like a tailored jacket).

Nope, you need a different manufacturer that uses a shirt body that fits you better.

Kay Lancaster snipped-for-privacy@fern.com

Reply to
Kay Lancaster

#2777 in the US (Are overseas numbers different? Don't know)

liz young

Reply to
Elizabeth Young

I also am 6' 6" , and thin. I taught myself to sew about twenty years ago, and I dont keep track of actual dimensions for a given pattern.

Reply to
felix

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