How to Make a Shirt: Step by Step Tutorial With Tips

As long as you know how to operate a sewing machine, you can sew any outfit on your own. Handmade clothes give you next-level satisfaction and let you polish your sewing skills.

If you’ve never sewn a shirt before, then it is the right time to try your hands on it. Most menswear is intended to be easy to wear and easy to sew, making it a perfect father’s day gift, valentine’s day gift, or just a birthday gift.

With so much ease of sewing, why not make a shirt on your own and give it as a gift to the “Man of your life”?

In this step-by-step tutorial on how to make a shirt, we will cover everything you want to know about sewing a shirt.

Tips on Why Everyone Should Learn How to Make a Shirt From Scratch

“Fine feathers make fine birds” – Aesop

This famous proverb states that the types of clothing aesthetics neatness, regardless of whether it fits—all affect one’s look and personality.

Many people hesitate when it comes to sewing. Things like threading a machine or winding a bobbin are too much for them to master.

Inserting a zipper or making a buttonhole is a pretty challenging task for them. What happens if a needle breaks or the bobbin runs out of the thread? It’s all too much, and they never take a step to begin their journey of how to make a shirt from scratch.

Sewing rewards are much more than the simple problems listed above. Sewing shirts at home is one of the preferable options when it comes to making a unique wardrobe.

Here are a few reasons why everyone should learn to sew a shirt at home.

It’s Green

If you are concerned about the environment, then you must sew a shirt at home. It allows you to repurpose the fabric. Some provision stores have a lot of fabric that is ready to transform. 

An old shirt can be used to make a little girl’s dress, or a lined curtain fabric can be used to create a shirt.

Upcycling clothes have many options. With minimum or beginner-level sewing skills, anything can be measured, cut apart, and transformed into a beautiful and impressive outfit.

Save Some Cash

It is no secret that sewing shirts at home can save you money. When you go shopping to buy a shirt for your beloved man, you can see the tags of $200, $500, or $700.

Knowing how to sew shirts at home allows you to make an impressive shirt with minimum cost. A little imagination and leftover fabric can give many chances to make beautiful handmade shirts at home.

Sense of Accomplishment

One of the best reasons why people learn to sew shirts at home is the sense of accomplishment that comes from handmade clothes. 

Seeing your handmade shirt loved and worn by your men will give you so much satisfaction. With that accomplishment, you are encouraged to sew more types of clothes at home.

Skill Building

Let’s face it, we all want to make something at home. Sewing allows you to play with your imagination and create something out of the box. 

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Sewing a shirt at home is one of the easiest projects for a beginner. It can help you build your knowledge base on different types of fabric and sewing threads that can be used for shirts. 

As you polish your skillset, you will look for more ideas to make cost-effective shirts at home and Voile; you can start your own small business.

6 Pro Tips on How to Design and Make Your Own T-shirts

The trend of custom-made shirts has increased over the past couple of years. According to the report, the custom shirt-making market is expected to cross the US $10 billion by 2025.

It is always a great feeling to wear clothes made by yourself. When you begin your journey of how to design and make your own t-shirts at home, you need to think of creating something that people can connect themselves with.

Image Source: Vectorium On Freepik

As you brainstorm your ideas, here we are breaking it all down with tips for how to make a t-shirt design that everyone will want to wear.

Keep it Simple

This is the golden rule that you should never forget. Think about the world’s some of the best t-shirt designs—Bob Marley, Keep Calm and Carry On, or Just Do It. 

What do they all have in common? Why are they so famous?

It’s simplicity. Every year or season, we get to know new trends, but one thing that has been appreciated and adopted by all is the simple yet eye-catching designs.

Many people appreciate the complex, good art, but that doesn’t mean it should be translated into different types of shirts or t-shirts.

Bonus Tip: Keep complexity at a minimum level and focus on design that is easy to digest.

Understand Borders and Edges

Think of the edges of your design. Do you want the design edges to be free-flowing, or will it look amazing on the borders?

There are so many types of borders available to choose from. Adding a frame around the borders can give a unique touch to the composition. Experiment with it.

Scale and Size Matters

The scale and size of the design you have chosen also matter. The real struggle is you won’t find an issue until you see it.

Image Source: Pinterest

Here’s a trick. Create a design and print it. Hold it on a shirt to see the scale. Does it look good? Is it balanced?

Once you have got the right size, you can adjust it on your shirt.

It’s All About the Font

Bad fonts can ruin all of your efforts. Fonts have the ability to communicate the message. It is recommended to play with different font styles to understand which works best on your shirt or t-shirt.

Three things to consider are the fonts, the words, and the placement. Think of a phrase you want to use. 

It should align with the message you want to convey to your men. Use high-quality fonts. For example, Serif fonts can give a traditional, formal look to your t-shirt or shirt, while San-serif can give a modern look.

Be Aware of Graphic Placements

Once you have determined the design, you need to determine where you will put it? There is a fine boundary between just doing the right work and hilarious work.

Image Source: Printing Large

Here are the most common placements for graphic design on t-shirts:

• • Back center
  • Front center
  • Sleeve
  • Front pocket
  • Top back center

For example, if you want to put a small logo, then keep it at the front right pocket area.

Make sure the image you are trying to put on the shirt contributes to the overall balance and should be of aesthetic quality.

Colors and Contrast

The best way to make a design look impressive is to use appropriate colors. Each shade, hue, and tint represent a special meaning.

While working on how to make custom t-shirt designs, focus on two main colors, ie. The fabric color and the print color. These two colors should complement each other.

A single color imprint on the shirt can also make a huge difference.

6 Step Tutorial on How to Make a Shirt Using Sewing Machine

The above sections covered how important it is to sew a shirt at home with some essential tips to get things in the right way.

Image Source: Ron Lach On Pexels

In this step-by-step tutorial, you will learn how to make clothes that your man loves to wear.

Keep reading to make your own shirt.

Supplies You’ll Need

Here are the essentials materials you will need to begin your journey of how to make a shirt at home:

• • Iron
  • Pins
  • Ruler
  • Thread
  • Scissors
  • Marking pencil
  • A big piece of craft paper
  • 10-12 Italian Buttonhole Chisel
  • Basic men’s shirt sewing pattern
  • 2 Yards of striped cotton chambray

Measurement

Start by folding the paper in half. Lay flat the shirt in the middle and ensure you mark the top and bottom so that you know where your shirts fit. Continue marking all around the shirt by keeping one centimeter away.

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Sleeve and Collar

To track and mark sleeves, you need to place your finger one centimeter away from the original line. Now, fold the sleeve on the backside, put small marks at a distance, and finish it.

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Follow the same process for the collar. After connecting all lines for the collar, you can trace it with a scissor. Tada! Your basic pattern is ready.

Cutting Out the Pieces

Pre-washing the fabric before you begin your how-to make shirts online journey is recommended. Follow the care labels that come with the fabric for washing instructions.

Bonus Tip: Washing the fabric before starting the sewing project straightens the edges. 

Now, start cutting two sleeves, two pieces of collar blades and bands on the folded side, two yokes, and a single back on the fold side.

Keep the extra fabric for the sleeve plackets and pockets.  

Work on Front Plackets and Pockets

This trick works well for the fabric with no right or backside, such as a woven-in pattern. If you have selected a non-woven material such as satin, twill, or brocade, you have to cut the plackets on an individual basis.

Start cutting two strips from the fabric which is one and a half-inch wide of the finished placket. It should be of equal length of the front edge but less than five inches.

If you are sewing button left overshirt, then lay out the fronts and attach interfacing. Press about half an inch with the front edge and press one and half inches on both sides. Topstitch will work best for shirts.

Image Source: Pinterest

Choose the prettier side for the buttonhole side and apply topstitching on the folded edges. Determine which size and shape you want your pockets to be.

Sewing

Once you have front plackets and pockets, you can pin the shoulder pieces on the right side and sew them together using a straight stitch.

For the sleeves, you need to pin the sleeve at the shoulder’s end. Now, sew them together.

Image Source: Cottonbro On Pexels

Once you have done this on both sides, you can pin it and sew the sides of the shirt together. Sew the bottom of the sleeves, and you are ready now.

Voile! You’ve just finished making a shirt at home. One thing is left. Personalize your handmade shirt with super easy and super custom woven labels and hang tags from the Superlabel Store!

How to Make a Shirt Pattern Without a Sewing Machine

The sewing machine is one of the essential things you will need while making shirts or t-shirt at home.

If you don’t own a sewing machine, don’t be disappointed. We’ve covered it for you. There are different types of shirts and styles available for beginner, intermediate and expert levels. 

Image Source: Pinterest

Depending upon your preference, you can begin your journey of how to make a shirt pattern at home, even without a sewing machine.

The above-listed measurement and cutting criteria will be the same. Just in the case of sewing, there will be some major changes.

Instead of a sewing machine, we will use thread and needles to make a shirt in this tutorial. You need to sew seams with knit stitches to avoid gaps and holes.

In a sewing machine, double running is achieved by going from over to under and under to over stitching. 

Since you don’t have a sewing machine, you can do a double running of stitches in one way and then turn around and return the other way while covering all the gaps.

Gather the shirt pieces and sew them in a similar way by applying running stitches.

4 Steps of How to Make T-shirts From Scratch

Once you have finished making your own shirt, you might be wondering why not make a casual t-shirt.

You can gift a handmade shirt and t-shirt combo to your brother, husband, boyfriend, or father.

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Wondering how to make my own t-shirts? What are the processes included, and how do you upscale your cut to sew operations?

In this tutorial, we will cover step-by-step instructions that will help you begin your journey of how to make t-shirts from scratch.

T-shirt design

There is where determining how to make your own t-shirt design is essential. Prepare a mock-up on a paper first. Create a sketch that shows the dimensions, spacing, and scale.

Don’t worry. It doesn’t have to be fancy. You just need to make it simple to understand. Learning how to make your own t-shirt design at this stage will help you finish the entire journey.

Pattern Making

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Once you have finished your designs, you will need to create pattern pieces that can be cut and sewn together. Based on the design sketches, you can begin making a pattern on the t-shirt.

Sample Cutting

After measuring and drawing patterns, you can cut the fabric to the right dimension. Cut as per the size and measurement. A sample fabric can be chosen to make a design.

Sewing the T-shirt

In the final step of making a t-shirt at home, your pattern pieces are ready with the cuts. A sewing machine is needed to sew the t-shirt pattern pieces.

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Make some adjustments as per your body fit and shape. The final outcome might be a loose or fitted t-shirt. Just give it a personalized step with a graphic or logo.

Want to learn how to make a logo on a t-shirt? Then keep reading.

DIY: How to Make Your Own t-shirt logo at Home

Have you ever wanted to put some logo or graphic on your handmade t-shirt or shirt?

Many printing vendors are available, but making your own logo at home without much effort can be amazing.

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In this section, we will help you learn how to make your own t-shirt logo at home in no time.

Things You’ll Need

Image Source: Pinterest

• • Printer
  • Plastic wrap
  • Parchment paper
  • Your handmade T-shirt

Step by Step Instructions

Please follow the below-listed steps, and you’ll get a fantastic logo printed on your t-shirt:

1. 1. Search the internet and find your ideal logo image, character, or tagline. Make sure the image size should fit your shirt or t-shirt. Print that image and cut it out.
   2. Take a plastic wrap and fold excess to the backside of the image.
   3. Once you set it to where you wanted it to be. Just cover it with parchment paper. Now, place the wrapped image on the t-shirt to finish your journey of how to make your own t-shirt logo at home.
   4. Use iron with a pre-set on high temperature and start ironing over the image. Make sure you iron well on the corners so that no part of the logo/image is left out.
   5. Once you are done with ironing, then let it cool for about 1-2 minutes and remove the parchment paper. Apply hand wash on the shirt to keep the logo for a long time.

TADA! You have your logo printed on your handmade t-shirt or shirt.

Conclusion

Shirts and t-shirts are one of the essential parts of a men’s wardrobe. They are simple, stylish, and impressive. A well-fitted shirt has the ability to transform an entire look. 

From office wear to casual meetings, shirts are fundamental to any evening occasion.

Learning how to make a shirt for your loved one will be full of love, excitement, and a roller-coaster ride.

Just get the right fitting or a sample shirt, some sewing kit essentials, and start making a fantastic shirt for him.

We hope the above-listed tutorials and instructions will be of great help.

Whether you make a shirt or t-shirt or any other garment, don’t forget to personalize it using woven labels and hang tags from Superlabel Store.