Men's shirt refashion

I claimed this shirt from Andrew when he had a clear out a while ago.  In the ongoing Stash Bust of 2014, I dug it out of my fabric trunk to practice alterations.  I didn't really have a set plan but just winged it as I went along.  This was the before picture:



...and this was the after!



I'm pretty pleased with the outcome, it's definitely wearable, especially for work under scrub tops where I want to look smart (hence the collar) but shouldn't have long sleeves (hence the sleeveless).  Especially since my new job is a small, cramped building with no air conditioning!  I removed the original sleeves and added bust darts to shapen the top half of the shirt.  I took the sides in by about 2 inches on both sides but I drew around a second well-fitting shirt for this step since apparently I have an allergy to measuring.  I followed the original bottom hemline but raised it by about 3 inches, it curves nicely up at the sides so I just followed this line.  Next time I promise to take photos as I go!



Improvements for Round Two though - the original armholes were too deep so I have to wear a vest underneath it or risk exposing my bra.  I think this should be fixable by reshaping the armhole before taking in the sides but it will take some rumination to decipher that in my head before applying it to fabric.  I also just eyeballed the bust darts, which led to one being an inch shorter and higher than the other (a problem I had with my boxy shirt made fitted but apparently I have yet to learn) so I will definitely (maybe) apply a measuring tape next time.





Overall though, a success!  I can slowly see improvements in my sewing and it's satisfying to see the pile of clothes to refashion being whittled away.  It's all about baby steps, I can feel my sewing confidence growing and I don't want to rush too fast and spoil it by biting off more than I can chew.  It's funny as well, I've never really enjoyed sewing blog posts that go into all the technical details and pictures because I can't picture what they're talking about.  Now I've started sewing (kind of) my own clothes though, I want to post all the boring technical pictures about how I made the curved bottom hem and the problem with saggy armholes. Apparently I'm a sewing nerd after all!