On Altering a Button-Down Shirt (Part 2)

So, I ended up just cutting off the sleeves. I know you're not supposed to do that, but I was careful to stick very close to the seam itself. I said I was having problems with the delicacy of the fabric so cutting off the sleeve seemed (haha, seamed!) the best option since I did have some play room.

I had a ton of room at the side seams to bring in and I decided, also because of the delicate fabric, to do French seams. (Sew a seam very close to the edge with wrong sides together, then turn right sides together and sew a seam, which leaves all raw edges enclosed. Super awesome for fray-prone fabrics! Can also be done in arm holes using the same method.)

I pinned in to about the size I wanted. I didn't cut, just to be safe at first. Then I sewed.

 

All the uneven, wavy lines are my size adjustments. Every time I sewed a line I tried the shirt on to make sure everything was hanging right.

 

 

Then I trimmed off the excess.

 

 

Frenched those seams. Then I put on the sleeves and, of course, having taken in the sides left the arm holes smaller so I did a short gathering stitch at the top of each sleeve before I put them back on.

 

French seam: second stage, with right sides together.

All done!!! I'll post a pic of the finished product on so you can see the difference.