DIY Dartless Woven Tee – Traced From My Favorite Shirt!

Do you have a favorite shirt? I do, and it’s the only shirt I bought in 2019. I bought it from a street-side stand in Chiang Mai, Thailand and perhaps because there was no US sizing, I was able to find my perfect fit without any numbers biasing my choice. The woven tee is pretty simple: a dart-less bodice with a modest round neckline, short sleeves and a simple split at the sides of the hem. As a busty, tall woman, it’s not often I have a favorite store-bought shirt. Happy I was able to have my first try at tracing off a garment to make these shirts!

The first step I took in recreating my fave was to trace a pattern. I folded the shirt along the seams and used a large pin to poke through the seam lines onto tracing paper. Next, I traced those lines in with pencil and ruler, correcting any wobbles. Then I added in 5/8″ seam allowance all around. For the neckline, I carefully measured down 2 inches all along the collar to mark a facing and added seam allowance to the top. 

A lot of YouTube DIY videos will encourage you to go right ahead and cut out your fabric using this pattern you’ve made. I believe that would be a mistake. Tracing off a pattern is a pretty good estimation of the original, but you may still need to adjust fit issues. Instead, I made a muslin with cheap fabric first. On my muslin I found the boobs were too tight and drag lines were emanating from my apex both above and below my bust line. I first re-sewed the side seams with an extra 1/4″ in each front piece, but that was not enough to fit comfortably. Ultimately a 1/2″ full bust adjustment was the perfect solution to remove drag lines and help the shirt sit comfortably over my bust. I also made a tiny adjustment to the sleeves which made a huge improvement to how they hang.

Now my favorite shirt pattern is perfect! And now I have countless new favorite shirts in my wardrobe! My lifestyle really demands comfortable shirts that easily style between casual, business casual, and business professional. When I’m traveling, networking, or even just running errands in the neighborhood, I love looking a bit more put together than a knit t-shirt will allow. Now I have a woven tee that delivers a put-together impact with all of the comfort. And even better, because I pre-washed these fabrics, I’m not worried about shrinkage that could render the shirts unwearable too soon. I’m looking forward to hacking my own pattern and creating more styles based on this simple shirt that fits great! 

Have you ever tried to trace off a shirt? Would you like a video tutorial to draft your own shirt like mine?

Pattern

• Self-drafted based on my favorite shirt
• Round neck collar with a 2″ interfaced facing
• Side seams have a 4″ split to allow for wider hips with straight side seams

Fabric

• Poly blend fabric from Fulton Fabric in Downtown Brooklyn, NY
• I used less than 1 yard of fabric to make this so it would be perfect to make in a pricey glam fabric like a silk or sequin

Tips

• To trace off a shirt with a pin, it helps to put your pattern paper on top of a soft surface to push the pin into. An ironing mat and ironing board work great, or use a length of cardboard. 
• After you’ve traced your front and back pattern pieces, line up the shoulders to make sure your lengths match. Also, match the length of your side seams and measure along your sleeve curves to make sure the sleeve is slightly longer than the shirt it’s fitting into. This is called “truing” your seams.
• To get a really smooth curved neckline:
  1. Staystitch the front and back pieces before sewing anything else to make sure the curves don’t stretch out
  2. After you sew the neck facing to the main body, clip along the curve every 1/4″-1/2″. You can clip through the staystitching in your seam allowance, but do not cut through your stitching line. 
  3. Trim your seam allowance down to 1/8″
  4. Turn the facing to the inside and press all along the curve to smooth the curve

Tutorials That Were Helpful

• I used this tutorial from Helen’s Closet Patterns to do a full bust adjustment without any darts