Sew a Men’s Shirt

Sew a casual mens button up shirt with this DIY tutorial, sewing pattern and video instructions

Hey y’all, today I’m updating a very popular old post and adding video to show how to sew a men’s shirt with this DIY tutorial and pdf pattern. This post is originally from 2013, and I’m happy to say that the Coach still wears the original shirt, it’s been a staple in his wardrobe for that long. This pattern is for chest size 36-38. If you need to make the pattern bigger or smaller, see this post.

Both the original shirt and the new one I sew in the video were made from rayon challis, and I even decided to make one of these short sleeve shirts for myself to use as a swimsuit cover. I’ll share the hack details for my version after the original instructions.

A Comparison of Two Shirts

A while back (in 2013) I sewed a shirt for my husband the Coach, and then people wanted me to share the pattern because sewing patterns for men’s clothing were few and far between. Especially for patterns that weren’t a t-shirt. I got my brother to model a shirt made from the same pattern in Robert Kaufmen Architextures fabric that I fell in love with, and this post came together originally. So, before we get to the men’s shirt pattern and tutorial I give you the Math gEEk shirt.

The capital EE is because li’l bro is finishing his degree in Electrical Engineering (aka EE or double E) and all the math on this fabric made me think of him (and my dad, who is also a double E). (Also, as of this post update li’l bro has graduated and been working as an EE for a few years). This shirt is made from the same pattern I originally used to make Hubby’s shirt, which you’ll be able to download below. I got li’l bro to help me recreate the formulas on glass from A Beautiful Mind, as well as capturing him where he actually works/studies right now – on the computer.

As you can see, the quilting cotton shirt drapes a little differently than the rayon shirt, but it’s still cool. Other fabrics that could work well include linen and cotton shirting.

I do a lot of boy sewing. But I haven’t made as many men’s garments. Before this shirt, I had made the Coach a grand total of two items – some gym shorts and a bathrobe. He wears them both, but never outside the house. And I hadn’t made anything for li’l bro since…never, I think.

One of the first challenges in sewing for men is patterns. There aren’t a whole lot of them (or at least there weren’t at the time I originally wrote this post. There are more now). Since the Coach is so picky, I just had him try on a few non-sporting apparel shirts he owns and tell me what he did or didn’t like about the fit. Then I took two that were closest to being his favorite and made a pattern.

The next challenge in sewing for men is fabric. I bought this Free Spirit Novella Rayon in Rain Aqua at my local quilting shop intending to make something for a boy with it. To my surprise, when I showed it to the Coach, he said he’d wear it. After another trip to the store (men’s clothing needs more fabric than boys’, after all) and muslining my pattern with an old bedsheet, I whipped up this shirt.

The fabric is just the right lightweight drape for this, and despite the bright colors, has a kind of hipster feel that works well in Austin. I left the hem straight because Hubby prefers it that way (no tucking required). I also resisted the urge to put on pearl snaps instead of buttons (too far over the hipster line). And the final challenge? Getting a good picture. He’s not used to being in front of the camera for my blog like the boys and I am.

Materials

To sew a men’s shirt for yourself, you’ll need:

• 2 yards of fabric
• 1 yard of lightweight fusible interfacing
• Buttons or snaps
• Thread, sewing machine, scissors, other basic sewing notions
• The pattern…

Please note that all my free patterns are licensed for personal use only (no selling items made from this unless you purchase it) and by downloading you are agreeing to this license.

To sew a men’s shirt, follow the instructions in the video below, which you can also watch on YouTube here. Or scroll below the video for photos and written instructions. Note that I do a little bit different construction in the video than in the photo tutorial. Both ways work, choose whichever makes the most sense to you.

After you’ve downloaded the pdf file, start by printing out the pattern, on US Letter or A4 sized paper, using Adobe Reader with scaling set to “Actual Size”. Trim around the outside of the gray boxes and tape together at the circles. Cut your fabric according to the cutting instructions on the pattern. Fuse interfacing to the wrong side of one collar piece, and the shirt facings. 1/2″ seams are allowed on this pattern. I’ve used pictures from both shirts in this tutorial, don’t let the changing fabric throw you.

Shirt Sewing Instructions

Start by pinning one of the yokes to the shirt back, right sides together. Stitch across, and the press the seam up towards the neckline.

Next pin the shirt fronts to the shirt back right sides together at the shoulders and stitch.

On the other yoke, which we will refer to as the yoke lining, press the straight edge 3/8″ to the wrong side.

Place the shirt face down and the yoke lining face up. Pin the shirt facings to the yoke shoulders on the side closest to the neck as shown below and stitch facings to yoke lining.

Place the two collar pieces right sides together and stitch around the 3 straight sides. Trim the seam allowance down to 1/4″ .

Turn the collar right side out and press. Topstitch if desired.

Pin the collar in place along the neckline, with shirt right side up and collar right side up. Start by matching the center collar to the center back neck, then continue to pin towards the shirt front edge. Your collar should end up about 1.25″ from the fold line of the facings. Check to make sure this is even on both sides, then baste the collar in place.

Now fold the facing and yoke over so that they are right sides together with the shirt with the collar sandwiched in the middle. Pin along the neckline, matching center back and shoulder seams. Stitch. Check for puckers, etc, then trim the collar seam down to 1/4″.

Match the yoke lining to the shoulder seams of the shirt. Stitch the outside shoulder edges together, stopping where the yoke is sewn to the front facings. In the picture below, the shirt is inside out and the yoke lining is flipped so that the right side of the yoke lining is against the wrong side of the shirt fronts.

Turn the yoke lining so that the wrong side of the lining is against the wrong side of the shirt back. This encloses the raw edges of the shoulder seams. Pin the pressed edge of the yoke lining over the seam joining the yoke to the shirt back. Turn the shirt right side up and stitch in the ditch of the yoke/shirt back seam or topstitch just above that seam (whichever you prefer) to secure the yoke lining and enclose the raw edges.

Lay the shirt out flat, right side up, and pin the sleeves in. First line up the front and back edges of the sleeve to the edges of the armholes. Pin from the edge toward center, stretching either the sleeve or shirt body as needed to ease the curve. Stitch. The picture below shows the pinned sleeve on the left and the sewn in sleeve on the right. You need to finish this seam using your favorite finishing technique (tips here).

Sew the underarm and side seams all in one seam, matching the underarm seams. Finish this seam as well.

To finish your shirt, iron the facings on the fold line, then topstitch close to the edge to keep them from rolling out. Hem the bottom and sleeves. 1″ is allowed for hemming on both, so turn under 1/2″ twice.  Sew the buttonholes or apply the snaps and you’re done – you’ve sewn a men’s shirt!

Shirt Pattern Hacks

If you’d like to add pockets to the shirt, then check out this post on sewing patch pockets. I’ve also been asked about hacks for different sleeve lengths. I don’t think I’d personally sew an open collar shirt like this with long sleeves, but if you want to, you can lengthen the sleeves just by extending the side seams down to wrist length.

To sew a men’s shirt modified for myself, I decided I wanted to channel grandma chic and make myself something like a house dress. I used a palm print polyester crepe that I bought at a fabric warehouse. I lengthened the pattern 6 inches, straight down. Remember that I’m short, so you may want to lengthen more than I did. Also remember that you’re going to want at least 2-3 inches of ease over your bust size and hip measurement for this to fit; the hip measurement on this pattern is the same as the chest measurement. If the 36-38 inch chest size is too small for you, then you’ll need to do a full bust adjustment, add a dart, or make the pattern bigger.

The other hack I made was to the hem – I added side vents. To sew a men’s shirt with side vents, you do not serge the seam allowances together if using a serger. Mark where you want the split to start, then backstitch there when sewing the side seam. Fold the raw edges of the seam allowances under and toward the seam, then press and stitch them down as illustrated below.