Men's to My Shirt...Part 1

Every time I have walked into walmarto in the last month I have been drawn to the school supplies, not because I have a single child in school, but because the prices are ridiculously low.  Who can pass up 4 glue sticks for a dollar?  Washable markers for $2?  So to help my budget stay on track I have tried to avoid that area and just stick to the food area.  But they got me with other "back-to-school" items, not even school supplies.
Later this week I am teaching a class on how to refashion and re-use old clothing.  I have been on the look out for cheap inexpensive shirts to demonstrate with--and thanks to walmarto, I now have lots.  At first I was looking for colored shirts, but really didn't find shirts that I wanted to pay for.  But I stopped my limo-cart mid aisle when I looked at the men's undershirts on display at the front of the store and calculated that a pack of 7 shirts for $7 meant that the shirts were $1 a piece.  Hmm, sounds good to me. 
So for the next little while I will be posting my projects of refashioned shirts, hence the title Men's to My Shirt


First up...

Basic T

Here's the Men's XL Shirt after it has been washed and dried, I wanted to make sure it wouldn't shrink.

(Do you like the blue in the background? We're trying to figure out colors to paint the kids bathroom.)

Using one of my favorite shirts I traced a pattern on freezer paper.  I added a little to the length and side--easier to tailor a shirt if it is too big, right?

Sewing the shirt was basic.

1. Shoulder to shoulder

2. Sides to sides.

3. Sleeves to armhole (right sides together).

Make sure you cut out the bottom of the shirt along the hem of the shirt so you don't have to hem.  I did this with the body and the sleeves.

Using the sleeves from the shirt I cut off from the top and the inside edge.  I stacked both sleeves on top of each other to do this to make sure the sleeves matched.

Ta-Da!  Fitted shirt with cuter sleeves

 Not too shabby.  Now I have a basic pattern that fits me perfectly. 

Next I will show you another way to make a big t-shirt a fitted shirt.  This time without a pattern.