Wow, I had a great weekend. On Saturday, I went to a rummage sale where they were selling clothes, $3 for whatever you could fit in a paper bag! What! In the interest of good thrifting karma, I only picked out the things I knew I would wear.

One thing I snagged was this white button-down-the-front shirt:

Now, I normally don’t like white button-downs on me. They fit weirdly. I have broad shoulders, which makes the buttons pull in unflattering ways. I don’t want to iron the collar. The material is generally thin and more “see through” than white.

But I know this is one of those basic pieces that I ought to have, so when I saw this shirt, I snagged it right away. I have an undefined waist, and I knew the princess seams would look good on me. I was delighted by the feminine ruffles. The kicker, though, was the mandarin collar. No ironing! Sold!

But when I got home and tried it on properly, I realized it was too big.

So I decided to do some custom tailoring. What did I have to lose?

The princess seams were perfectly spaced on the front (whew!), so I just needed to take in the side seams. Rather than using some fancy measuring method, I simply sewed the width of my presser foot. Check it out:

(See how I’m lining up the outer edge of the foot with the original seam?)

So, I did this a couple of times, trying it on after each set of seams. I ended up sewing four seams on each side before it fit the way I liked.

I didn’t want to make the opening for the arm hole any smaller, so I started my seams in the armpit.

After I got my shirt the right size, I zig zagged between the last two rows of stitches. I wanted to finish the seam and give it a faux-serged look. Mostly, I didn’t want the raw edges of the fabric to fray later on.

Then I cut off the extra fabric. Voila! Beautiful custom tailored shirt.

I love this shirt now! I can’t believe I would ever say that about a white button-down, but I do. I plan on wearing this pretty much with everything this spring. I love beautiful basic wardrobe pieces!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What’s your favorite article of clothing that you altered to make extra special? I would love to hear your stories.