How to Make a Shirt on a Square Shape

You can make a basic shirt from a folded square of fabric.

A basic shirt design, made from an old T-shirt or other knit shirt, is a straightforward sewing project suitable for even the most novice sewers. Use a shirt that is slightly too large so that you do not have to make any seam allowances when drawing the pattern. If you fold the fabric into a square shape, then you can make half as many cuts to the fabric, making the project go even faster. You can use a simple shirt design, or you can embellish the design with elastic, beads, patches or other things to make it special.

Things You'll Need

• 1 yard, 52-inch-wide knit cotton fabric
• T-shirt
• Straight pins
• Tailor's chalk
• Sewing machine
• Thread

Instructions

1. Wash and dry the fabric before cutting to preshrink the fabric.

2. Fold the fabric in half horizontally, then half again vertically to create a square shape. Arrange the fabric so that the two raw edges align with the bottom and right sides of the square.

3. Fold the T-shirt in half vertically, placing the sleeves together. Place the folded edge of the shirt along the left edge of the fabric square. Pin the shirt in place with straight pins.

4. Draw around the outline of the shirt with tailor's chalk. Remove the T-shirt and cut out the shirt outline. Do not cut the shirt along the left edge of the square.

5. Unfold the two sides of the shirt and pin them together along the sleeves and side edges.

6. Sew along the tops and bottoms of the sleeves, the side seams and the shoulders using a 1/4-inch seam allowance.

7. Turn the shirt right side out. Fold the collar edge down 1/4 inch and sew in place using a 1/4-inch seam allowance. Sew a 1/4-inch hem in the bottom edge of the shirt.

References

• DLTK Holidays: Simple Shirt
• The Scholar's Garret: How to Make a Quick and Dirty T Tunic