Altering men’s “store bought” shirts

rtjnr8r | Posted in Fitting on October 25, 2007 06:47am

Hi, My dear husband (DH) has lost nearly 40 pound in the past 3.5 months — YEAH ! He plans to continue his weight loss program until he loses about 20 more pounds, which will put him in the normal weight range. We’re trying to hold off buying a lot of new clothes until he reaches his goal, so I have been altering the waistline of his pants. His shirts are baggy, and they droop over his shoulders. I know how to take in the sides of his shirts, from armpit to hem. Is there a way to take up the shoulders as well, so that they won’t droop so much? Currently, the should seams are about 2 inches down, on the arm. I would like to make presentable alterations to the shirts without taking them entirely apart. — Also, I am new to Threads forums, so I don’t understand a lot of the acronyms, such as CF. Is there a listing of what all the various abbreviations mean? Thanks, in advance, for any advice that you have to offer. :^)

Replies

starzoe | Oct 25, 2007 06:56pm | #1
Congratulations to your hubby for the weight loss. About the shirts - I would suggest you invest in a few inexpensive shirts rather than go through what is almost the impossible feat of altering his shirts across the shoulders. You would have to completely take the top part of the shirt apart, including the sleeve and most likely the collar as well.

It certainly could be done but, having worked on men's shirts, I know it is a tedious and time-consuming effort. Maybe you could sew him a few shirts; that's something easier to do (and more fun as well).
Ralphetta | Oct 25, 2007 07:52pm | #2
Almost anything can be done...but the question I ask myself is "Is it worth the time and effort?" I don't think you want to spend the time it would take to correctly fix the problem, particularly when he's continuing to lose. Personally, I think this is a perfect time to check out the thriftstores and pick up something to tide him over for the short time.

rtjnr8r | Oct 26, 2007 02:41pm | #3
I agree with you. I was thinking all along that the alterations would be too time consuming, but I wanted some other opinions. Some of the shirts are high end (mostly from thrift stores), so they would be worth some amount of alterations, but they're not worth extensive makeovers. So, thanks, again, for your help.