The Men’s Shirt – Refashioned

Refashioning clothing is seriously lots of fun,  and what’s easier than refashioning a men’s button down shirt?  I have amassed a sizable collection of men’s shirts, and they’re taking up lots of space in my fabric closet.  Aside from having a fabric closet which is AWESOME, I have fabric spilling out of it because it’s full of men’s shirts.

One of my first refashioned button down shirts was this blue striped one I shared last year during Me Made May 2016.  I used Made By Rae’s Ruby Top pattern, and I used the shirt’s cuffs as “cap sleeves”.  I love how it turned out, but I kind of messed up my measurement of the sleeve placement, although it’s hard to tell really.

My most recent refashioned top is this Basic Tank by Cali Faye Collection.  I used the existing shirt hem and just moved my pattern piece to accommodate it.  I also moved the front to the back because I like the look of the button placket on the back, obviously.  Then I forgot when I made this first Basic Tank that I needed to make some fitting changes to the upper bust/armscye part of the pattern.  It’s snug there and doesn’t look good.

You can also see where that snugness pulls at the back as well by the drag lines.

I do love the overall design of the Basic Tank and know I’ll make more using it once I fix the fit (maybe just size up?).  Since the fit is off, it pretty much gives everyone a peep show when I moved around, so it’ll probably be relegated to a layered tank under a sweater.

There will definitely be LOTS more of these refashions since I have many, many of these button down men’s shirts.  Do you have patterns you like to use for these shirts?  I’m thinking maybe a crop top next…