Men's to women's shirt refashion

Men's shirts, they're so full of promise aren't they?
All that lovely good quality fabric, a refashion dream.
I bought and cut up this medium size men's superdry 100% cotton shirt.

The shirt was good quality thick cotton with a lovely slightly soft brushed feel.
I had to pay £8 at a 'charity boutique' but I know they retail at £45 so still a good saving, and it looked new.

Removing the collar (by unpicking) instantly transformed it to granddad style.

The seams are so well made I couldn't face unpicking them all, so just cut the sleeves off.

I chose a medium fit because I knew it would fit my shoulders but I would then have to make it wider to fit in the bust area.

I used the sleeves to create side panel inserts.



The colour is wrong in this photo

I had hoped to make sleeves something like this


But the drape on this thick cotton wasn't suitable, so I just went with a single cap sleeve, using the top part of the original.  I also added a bust dart which made the now huge gaping hole of an armhole more decent.

I'd been a bit slapdash with the side paned inserts and had to put a dart in the armpit end of the panel.

To further improve the fit I sewed up the top and bottom of the back pleats.

Finally I attached the logo from the sleeve cuff to the top of my new sleeve.

And with a little hand sewing to neaten off it was ready to wear.



I'm not too sure about the length at the back, may shorten it later.

I've already worn this shirt quite a lot, including to work and on holiday.

The side panel inserts create plenty of armpit ventilation so although the cotton is quite thick, it is still cool to wear.