How to Make a Neon Yellow Shirt

A button-down shirt is more formal than a sleeveless one.

Making a neon yellow shirt --- not a color that everyone can wear -- is bound to attract attention when you wear it to a party. Making your own yellow shirt gives you the option of picking the color and the fabric you want. Before you rush out to buy a pattern, get organized. Susan Wright from New Mexico State University suggests that you assemble everything you need in one place before you begin a sewing project. A bit of pre-planning will help make sewing your neon yellow shirt easier.

Things You'll Need

• Neon yellow fabric
• Pins
• Scissors
• Dressmaker's chalk
• Needle and thread
• Sewing machine
• Buttons or zipper
• Button hole attachment

Instructions

1. Select a pattern. If you want to wear the neon shirt in the winter, go for long sleeves. In the summer, however, short sleeves are cooler.

2. Buy your fabric. Visit all the local stores that stock neon yellow and look for the brightest material you can find. If you can't remember which is the brightest, ask the clerk to cut small swatches so you can compare.

3. Pre-shrink the fabric. Save water and detergent by doing it with a regular load of laundry. Make sure the other clothes won't be ruined if the neon yellow runs.

4. Pin the pattern to the fabric. Cut the material carefully and remember to leave about ½ inch for a seam allowance.

5. Sew the front two pieces to the back. Machine stitch the placket and then mark where you will make the buttonholes and attach the buttons with dressmaker's chalk.

6. Hand-stitch the sleeves, collar and cuffs into place. When they are aligned as you want, reinforce with machine stitching. Another option is to deviate from a traditional approach and use a zipper.

7. Attach a pocket on the left side of the shirt if it is for a man. A woman's shirt may have either two pockets or none.

8. Make the buttonholes using the attachment. Sew on the buttons.

Tips & Warnings

• Pick the right accessories to go with your neon yellow shirt -- such as a black hat and handbag -- as it is a fashion statement. Keep jewelry to a minimum as it may distract from the brightly colored shirt.

References

• New Mexico State University; Sewing Shortcuts; Susan Wright
• Cyberseams: How to Sew a Woman's Shirt

Resources

• Marquise: Making a Men's Shirt
• The Sewing Guru: How to Make a Shirt; Michael Coates