How to Make a Long Shirt Shorter With a Sewing Machine

Cut and hem your shirt to go from hip length to waist length.

Fashions change faster than your budget can keep up -- the tunic length shirts you bought last spring may be out of style by fall. Don’t go out and buy a new wardrobe in the shorter styles. Instead, save your money and shorten your existing wardrobe at home. The easiest way to achieve the desired length is to use a shirt you already own as a pattern. This method is particularly advantageous if you have several shirts to alter, as you will not need to be pinned into each one.

Things You'll Need

• Shorter shirt
• Tailor’s chalk
• Ruler
• Scissors
• Iron
• Sewing machine

Instructions

1. Lay the long shirt on a work surface.

2. Place another shirt the length you desire on top of the first shirt. Align the shoulders and side seams to ensure the torso of each shirt is parallel.

3. Trace along the bottom of the shorter shirt with tailor’s chalk, leaving a 1/4 inch seam allowance.

4. Cut along the line you just traced.

5. Turn the shirt inside out and fold the 1/4 inch seam, ironing it in place as you work.

6. Use a straight stitch to sew the hem in place with your sewing machine.

References

• Threadbanger Style: T-Shirt Reconstruction: How to Resize Your Shirt and How to Give It a Braiding Effect
• Dummies.com: Making Machine Stitches Work for You