Men’s Sport Shirt

Hi Sewing Friends:

My husband recently lost over 50 pounds (He learned he is pre-diabetic. That gave him the incentive!) and is desperate for some new shirts that fit.  So, I just finished sewing a sport shirt for him and thought I would share some sewing tips with you.

I used Kwik Sew 2935 and found some good features about it that I liked and some other things I added to make it even better.

Kwik Sew 2935 includes a men’s shirt and hat.  The shirt has extended shoulders, yoke, convertible collar and short sleeves.  View A has side hemline slits and a pocket.  View B has a shirt tail hemline and pockets.  The hat has a crown, side panel and brim with topstitching detail.

    Pattern Features I liked:

• The pattern has 1/4″ seam allowances - can easily be stitched on the sewing machine or serger.  Saves so much trimming time.
• Upper and under collar pattern pieces with under collar slightly smaller as it should be (Accommodates turn of the cloth issue and lets collar lay better)
• Slight shape to collar creates a nicer collar than a straight edge
• Shirt shaped across the upper back - not straight where it joins the yoke for better fit.
• Well shaped sleeve cap - front and back shaped differently
• Optional curved or straight bottom.  I used the straight bottom with slits, but will change it in the future.  The curved botton is more flattering to both men and women instead of a straight edge going around their widest part.  Also, if you like to tuck your shirt in (as my husband does), you have less bulk with the curved bottom.

What I changed or added:

• Cut collar and yoke on the crosswise grain rather than lengthwise grain.  Lengthwise threads going around the collar and yoke looks and wears better.)
• Cut 1/4″ off the long outside edge of both the upper and under collars to create a more narrow collar.
• Added center notches for easy matching (Click the links to learn more.)
• Staystitched directionally to prevent stretching
• Stitched 2 layers of fabric together at a time, not three or four to prevent sliding
• Understitched the collar outside edge for a flatter clean finish
• Eliminated button loop (If you will never use it, why put it there?)
• Cut front facing and garment front all in one (overlapped pattern pieces 1/2″ to eliminate two 1/4″ seam allowances) and created a fold line to reduce bulk by eliminating a seam.
• Used “fake cuff” sewing technique on the pocket and the sleeve hems. Fast and easy technique.
• Shaped side seams to reduce excess fabric around the middle - (Took in 5/8″ at the waist and tapered back out to nothing at the underarm and the bottom of shirt).  This made my husband very happy since we used to add to his middle before his weight loss.
• Added a round back alteration to the yoke to accommodate husband’s rounded back - (Didn’t tell him!  Sometimes men are more vain than women!)

Once you get this classic men’s sport shirt the way you want it, you can easily stitch up a nice shirt is about 2 to 2-1/2 hours.

Choose the pattern size by comparing a ready-to-wear shirt that you know already fits pretty well.  The pattern includes all sizes from S to XXL or chest sizes from 34″ to 52″.

The sewing tips and techniques also apply to sport shirts for women and children, too. 

Surprise him with a new sport shirt custom made just for him.  He will love it!  Use up some of your stash or pick out a novelty print depicting his favorite hobby or how about a Hawaiian shirt to wear to the beach or pool party.  Don’t forget that men love to wear silk, too.

Have some sewing fun and make matching shirts for the whole family to wear to the next reunion or vacation. 

These shirts are fast and easy!

It just makes sense!

To Your Sewing Success,

Marian

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Men’s Sport Shirt

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This entry was posted on Friday, July 6th, 2007 at 3:52 pm and is filed under Sewing Patterns, Sewing Tips, Sewing Projects. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.