3 Tips For DIY Tailoring EXCELLENT Fitting T-Shirts

You Don’t Need A Special Brand Of T-Shirt

I wear a ton of t-shirts and I usually get them from places like Target or Old Navy or whatever department store my family drags me to. Nowhere special at all. And learning how to tailor them myself has been one of the most amazing skills I’ve ever learned. So much so that I love teaching other people how to do the same thing to their t-shirts now.

Write Down Your Measurements and Tailor in Bulk

When it comes to measuring, my method is a bit different but way more precise than a lot of other methods you might come across. Especially the stupidly inaccurate pinch-and-pin method. I hate that method because its hard to do by yourself if you don’t have any friends to help you. And even if you do it still isn’t very accurate at all.

I like to measure the sides of my shirt, throw in some pins with a rough measurement, try it on, and adjust until it fits just right. It sounds run and gun but it isn’t. You put 4-6 sewing pins in the side seams to start. And depending on the size of your shirt you just guesstimate how much you want to take off. You can do all sorts of different configurations too. If you want it to be slimmer in the waist and wider in the chest you can do that.

Once I get the right fit, I save those measurements in my Notes app. It saves SO much time when I get a new shirt, even from a different brand. The measurements I write down transfer between brands surprisingly well. A large from Target is pretty close to a large from Old Navy for example—not exact but close. I’ll pin it up first and see how it fits before committing. I have commitment issues. Other than that I honestly can’t remember the last time I went through the process of experimenting with my sewing pins, it’s been forever!

Shorten the Body, the Sleeves, and Make the Sleeves Tighter

I've made tutorials on shortening the body and sleeves and making the sleeves tighter and it’s crazy how easy it is. These tweaks will absoutely transform how a t-shirt looks on you, especially the sleeves. I hate baggy sleeves with a passion, so that's the first thing I fix every single time. Tightening them is really simple—just pinch and sew a new stitch.

Shortening the body and sleeves is the same process, keeping the original hem intact. You wanna keep that hem because it maintains the elasticity of your shirt, plus it looks good. This is one of my favorite alterations because it can make such a DRASTIC change to any t-shirt. Have you ever had a t-shirt that you really liked but the sleeves were too long, so it just looked super sloppy? Yeah, this fixes that annoying problem. And to the naked eye it’s almost impossible to even notice that they’ve been altered.

You can barely even tell this was altered…

Use Your Sewing Pins PROPERLY

When you pin your t-shirts or dress shirts before you tailor them, do you put the pins on the same side of the shirt? Well you can, but it sucks that way. Why? Because when you run it under your sewing machine to add a new straight stitch, the bulk of your shirt will be free and clear on one pass, then gets bunched up under your machine on the other pass.

You’ll be trying to make sure your stitch is accurate as well as pushing and stuffing your garment through to the other side of your sewing machine. It’s really annoying.

Instead, pin up opposite sides of your garment so you can sew without the bulk getting in the way on both passes under your sewing machine. That one I discovered and was kinda blown away, like “wait…that’s genius.” It’s little tricks like that that are key to DIY tailoring!

Pin opposite sides of your shirt, it’s a game changer!

Remember take accurate measurements that you keep a record of, and don’t be afraid to make those simple tweaks that transform your t-shirts. It’s all about making your clothes fit you perfectly and comfortably. You’re going to make mistakes along the way, and mess up A LOT of t-shirts. But after about a weekends worth of time you’ll have it all down. Pretty soon ALL of your t-shirts will look like straight BANGERS!

Ask me how I know.

SD out, see ya!