Shirt *Construction* techniques

[Chanterelle]

For those interested techniques of shirt construction, there is relatively little information out there. DPC has two books on the subject. But unfortunately the resources (blogs and websites) and pictures he compiled (and are advertised in the books as 'available online') are, to my knowledge, no longer available. He has, as many already know, since passed, so little hope that those materials will be available on request.

I wanted to start a thread compiling available techniques from video, print, or post. For archival stability, the following seems like good procedure. I'll update the original post as sources are added.

1) For internet posts, you can print the webpage to pdf and post that here (either as pdf or image) for better archiving.
a) https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLCx_fw0t5KnkaOZlwKp4w_GC_YLJwpAnl&si=jVCwpgsB9WADj1M0

2) For books, you can use an app like GeniusScan to make a pdf from the images you take of the pages that can then be posted in comment or via dropbox.
(a) https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/pl4bjvdpa6pj4owwk8f36/Collar-Construction.pdf?rlkey=03mj5rvbbgycfro9r1psm1z9b&dl=0


3) For videos, youtube or vimeo are probably best.

My first addition is an interesting "wrapped corner" method for collar and cuff construction, which involves cutting top and under collar/cuff larger and smaller than the pattern (respectively) and then sewing the top collar/cuff edges down before turning.

Will upload videos and texts as I can

[Chanterelle]

As a more personal request, I'm looking to hear/see/read side seam and shoulder seam for inset sleeves construction techniques--specifically re: lapped, felled, or frenched seams.

I've seen the Kirby Allison video when the seamstress uses a rolled hem foot to sew the side seam from hem to cuff. This works well but I've had extreme difficulty working the bulky portion of the sleeve/body.

I've been testing different rolled hem feet/feeders, lap seam folders, etc. on my single needle lock stitch to mostly no avail. The two step fell seam I find particularly clunky, especially on the shoulder seam, and especially if the fabric is fray-prone.

Collar and cuff attaching is also tedious, so looking for a streamlined technique that produces the sharpest/smoothest transition from collar to body or sleeve to cuff.

[Gerry]

I've seen the Kirby Allison video when the seamstress uses a rolled hem foot to sew the side seam from hem to cuff. This works well but I've had extreme difficulty working the bulky portion of the sleeve/body.

I've been testing different rolled hem feet/feeders, lap seam folders, etc. on my single needle lock stitch to mostly no avail. The two step fell seam I find particularly clunky, especially on the shoulder seam, and especially if the fabric is fray-prone.

When side seams are hemmed, it's usual to sew the long seams of the sleeves separately and set them in already completed, rather than trying to tackle cuff to hem as a single seam. IIR, the Kirby vid doesn't actually show the sleeves being sewn in (pretty hazy memory, though, so forgive me if that's not the case). It's also common to shave a little off the front of the sleeve pattern (I use 3/8ths) and add it to the back, which offsets the sleeve and body seams at the armhole (the former being more forward than the latter). This reduces bulk.

If you encounter problems with bulk when using a hemmer foot for actual hems, there's a nice trick that Mike Maldonado demonstrates in one of his pay-for videos. You basically decouple the cloth from the foot, move your work past the side-seam bulk, then resume. Finish the unstitched portion by edge stitching with a conventional foot, or compensating foot (these are fantastic, BTW, once you get the hang of them). Having said that, I hate hemmer feet. Even when you get the hang of them, they twist the cloth (it's just their nature), creating a wavy hem.

I paid for a couple of Maldonado's modules. I don't think his site has been revamped in years. I had to reduce the page size significantly to even see the checkout basket in order to pay. Then everything was sent via dropbox, which has a limit on size with free accounts. After lengthy email exchanges, he had to send everything in stages. All rather frustrating.

https://www.shirtmakersinstitute.com

Although interesting to watch, I didn't gain much from his methods; and what I did find useful is freely available via his youtube content:

https://www.youtube.com/@Maldonado60/videos

https://www.youtube.com/@shirtologist9365/videos

That's not to say that you won't learn much/anything, it's just that I already have my own way of doing things.

Re DPC, Craftsy has a little series by him on shirt-making. It demonstrates the collar offset method you mention. Unless things have changed (check the small print), you can sign up to Craftsy for a month, immediately cancel (or do so before the month is up) and you'll still get to view content for a month.

https://www.craftsy.com/class/shirtmaking-details-beyond-the-basics/

There are more courses on shirt making at Craftsy, but they're very much in the home-sewer mould. This is the only other one worth watching IMO (it has some useful tips here and there):

https://www.craftsy.com/class/sew-better-sew-faster-shirtmaking/

Some more free content here, from one of Budd's cutters:

https://www.youtube.com/@sewjimmymac2140/videos

And more free stuff:

bespoke educator

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dzEhxiMWzYU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bkheQa5cvH4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nVWB8qzH7Zs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OqsS7pOn20E


Become a Tailor

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VW-TTu4I_wk&list=PLjqu6rb5rpBCdQuHkDyCM07PdZhzlryA6

Sew with Sally (the other industry way of making gauntlets):

https://youtu.be/CYPX6K63lTA?si=8PSKYpmmWOfNbkSc

EDIT: just to clarify re Craftsy, although individual lessons can be bought, they're quite pricey and not things that I'd watch over-and-over. The alternative is to take out a subscription and cancel the auto-renew before the month expires. Then you can watch a load of stuff for only $11 (US).

[tmakos]

There is also a video uploaded by a Paul Kruize, although not instructional, many things can be observed in it.

Other videos:

EDIT: Seems this video is no longer available on YouTube

https://www.youtube.com/@GUSEVBESPOKE

The rolled hem foot worked quite well for me, although with thicker materials, the seam becomes bulky. There's another clever solution that Emma Willis employs:

[Gerry]

Not in English, so you might need to enable youtube's auto translate for these. Even without that function, you should be able to understand what's going on.

Pin tuck panels for shirt fronts (results shown at end):

https://youtu.be/vq7Y4Hwlcx0?si=sXlN40GP62k398R8

Cocktail cuffs:

https://youtu.be/P0WDt2uPsJU?si=pNt5UWl0CaxeCRb1

Sleeve gauntlets/plackets:

https://youtu.be/xjIsoLCV48Y?si=qXHvE76sjQr8Kcuj

Double lapped seam from hem to cuff:

https://youtu.be/GlUidJA1nSQ?si=rhdRQk6EbPJ-WeOe

From the same tailor, a whole load of shirt vids:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g6BoqtxUGZ0&list=PLPmeKkSRs-B1xoWV0lQxBaVsGaxB3EZ0k

[Gerry]

Some very good, practical advice on hand-sewn buttonholes. In Russian, but youtube's auto-translate does a decent job of conveying the info:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jm2V4YYylN0

More from the same tailor:

Sewing buttons

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LmXonF5_wLM

Darts on striped fabric

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qo_Xh7q0tDQ

Gussets

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ziqb8pbJG_Y

Pattern matching checks

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jz1qP3ntF4o

Pattern matching sleeve gauntlets/plackets

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hDFbPWQN4ZM

Raised front placket - interestingly, three folds are used, presumably saving the bother of interfacing?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T1Ytd36lEgE

Dress shirt differences and how to adjust a shirt sloper accordingly; followed by another demo of a raised front placket and his way of doing pintucks ... though on an episode of Sewing Bee, Patrick Grant (Savile Row proprietor and tailor) mentioned that it's easier to do them on a block of cloth then lay your pattern over the finished result for striking and cutting. Which seems like less work/calculations to me.

https://youtu.be/W-Vf8i9SG80?feature=shared

[Schneiderfrei]

I know this is probably not what you had in mind, but it is a construction guide.

[Chanterelle]

These are all fantastic videos. Especially these two. Have infinite difficulty pattern matching gauntlets, particularly on asymmetric plaids, like madras...

Pattern matching checks

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jz1qP3ntF4o

Pattern matching sleeve gauntlets/plackets

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hDFbPWQN4ZM

[Gerry]

One of the Vladimir Sadykov's vids from his playlist (linked above) also covers pattern matching:

https://youtu.be/qzCYcQQY3yQ?si=dxLoqF1AOYU6R46E

He does the typical tailor's thing of only cutting out the top piece, then aligning its pattern with that on the cloth underneath. You then cut round the top piece, using it as a template. He pins the pieces, most don't bother, unless the cloth is slippery (silk/whatever).

Can't remember if it's the above vid or another, but in one you see him laying out a client's patterns that are make out of old newspaper "I was too lazy to go to the store".

One thing I tried on a test garment recently, and will be doing from now on, is glue basting the long seams when using a pattern with a horizontal line. Heat one of the seams (which seam is best depends on the method you use to close them, but it's not critical), smear on some paper glue from a stick (it's not permanent and is water soluble, though do protect your ironing board with greaseproof/baking paper), finger press the pieces together until alignment is spot on, then steam press to form a stronger bond. Just to make sure the seams don't come undone as I take the work to the machine, I also use three pins to secure the starts middles and ends of the seams, a little from the intended seam line. Otherwise the weight of the cloth can pull at, and undo, the glue baste.

Pattern matching along the seam is fantastic using this method. Better than using one's eye when feeding in the cloth to the needle, or pinning/basting with thread (pieces can still shift around). This is a snap of the sleeve seam. It would look even better with a press, but I'm never going to wear this so I didn't bother:

https://flic.kr/p/2pJ7x7z

[Chanterelle]

I imagine this would involve a bit of easing down the length to match, given that the sleeves seams are not exactly perpendicular to the pattern

https://flic.kr/p/2pJ7x7z

[Gerry]

I imagine this would involve a bit of easing down the length to match, given that the sleeves seams are not exactly perpendicular to the pattern

https://flic.kr/p/2pJ7x7z

The sleeve would have to be a cylinder to get perfectly stright horizontal lines. Because of their taper, sleeves are more conical in shape, so all we can do is match things along the point where the horizontals meet.

Unless I'm missing a trick? (a call to the more experienced).

[Gerry]

A consequence of all the link-hunting I did for my posts above, is that some really interesting stuff turned up in my youtube feed. None of these are in English, but youtube's auto-translate feature works well enough to understand what's going on.

This video demonstrates how pin-tucks can be done for a Guayabera shirt (as featured in Kirby's recent Cuba series). It demonstrates the detail of the Patrick Grant approach that I mentioned above. For the fronts, only the side seam and armhole are marked. The rest of the shirting (brushed cotton?) is cut as a rectangular block with excess width on the front - done here because the placket is a straight line, so the pattern can't be disrupted. This excess compensates for the cloth lost to the tucks. When sewn, the pattern is placed over the fronts then the shoulders and neck marked and cut. A simple, intuitive way of doing things.

https://youtu.be/ZWee_WNwOek?si=HBf6Yg68PxmuyzwT

He also demonstrates a very clever way of using a conventional foot along the lines of a pintuck foot. The ridge of the first tuck acts as an edge-guide for the left hand side of the foot. So spacing is determined by the width of the foot used (or rather the width of it's left hand prong), and done on the fly rather than marking everything. Two, shorter vids by the same guy, showing the tucks, the second demonstrating the insertion of an embroidered strip:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yLtsLgGviAQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BYrZrzgNDao

Guayabera shirts are a little baroque for my tastes, but a more minimalist version (no back pleats and no embroidered strips) can look quite elegant. That aside, this is an instructive little series on drafting and construction, done by a professional dressmaker by the look of things:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fqNHdw5Jt0A&list=PLc4R-E3ELC48HwBzVqRJp38hupjqGsaA4

The next vid is a post mortem on an expensive, Italian shirt. Coincidentally, I recently tried out the shoulder shape shown here. It's only something you'd do for a skinny yoke, its fronts right on the top of the shoulder. I didn't scoop as much as this shirt. I used both the edge and flat of a ruler to give me some guidelines as to how much scoop to use, and where to start the curve. It gives a better fit on the shoulders and I've adjusted my sloper accordingly for the next shirt I make.

https://youtu.be/yHMct-spd-U?si=tbaJotObKTGb7mJk

Note also that the buttonholes are half-and-halfs: lightly machined then overcast by hand. More uniform as a result. His channel is worth trawling through and subscribing to, incidentally, though it's mostly concerned with jackets.

Finally (for now), a more conventional cocktail cuff than the one posted earlier:

https://youtu.be/3br74DkEJy4?si=3yx3Wy0pjOUPx7ID

I like the way that the interfacing is done in two pieces, creating a natural hinge rather than done as a single piece, which can produce a lumpen fold (from what I've seen, I've never actually made one of these cuffs).

[Schneiderfrei]

Here's my latest shirt. It's been a couple of years due to illness and work stuff.

I'm determined to match my checks and I'm basting the thing into submission!

If your wondering what sort of shirt this is, have a look above at the Parsons Shirt instructions I posted earlier.  One can't worry too much about the vertical placement. But Horizontal is everything. To get the vertical stripes in order would require cutting and removingand resewing, which would changethe shirt in other ways.

The last shot is 'one' of my collection of machines, mostly given to me. This is a Beautiful 1950s Singer. Almost perfect condition. The little needle I use for basting is a Regal size 12. Regal are the best; hard tough and ultra sharp.

[Gerry]

Everything you always wanted to know about cocktail cuff design, but were afraid to ask (very good article):

https://www.bondsuits.com/a-guide-to-designing-a-cocktail-cuff/

Last year I attended the Fashion City exhibition in London and the cuffs of a late '60s Mr Fish shirt caught my eye. They're of the button-down variety, as mentioned in the above article. They could even be an example of a cocktail cuff designed for cufflinks (also mentioned). Difficult to tell because viewing was restricted and the lighting incredibly dark (hence the crappy photos). It could simply have been that the cuffs weren't buttoned and the buttons not visible ... or they'd fallen off at some point. Either way, these cuffs looked incredibly cool in the flesh:

https://flic.kr/p/2pJFvJS

https://flic.kr/p/2pJFvK3

[Gerry]

Here's my latest shirt.

Was the embroidery part of the cloth as bought, or did you add it by machine? Very unusual (in a good way).