As clothing items get more and more expensive, the easiest way of having a new outfit is to sew it yourself. All you need is a sewing machine, a piece of fabric, creativity, time and some patterns to choose from.
You can always start with basic items such as shirts and tops, and work your way up to more complex stuff as you gain more experience. This article is going to explain you how to sew a shirt in a few simple steps.
The first thing to do is to print out the pattern, making sure the scaling is set to actual size. Next, you need to overlap the fabric with the printed pattern, and cut it carefully, following the shape.
Once you've got all fabric pieces, you have to pin them together. As this is the trickiest step, you may need to do and redo things several times until you get everything right.
The easiest way to start is by pinning one of the yokes to the shirt back. Make sure the right sides stay together. When done, stitch across, pressing the seam up.
Next, you need to attach the shirt fronts to the back by pinning them at the shoulders. When you are ready, sew them together.
When pinning the yoke lining, you need to position it face up, while placing the the shirt face down.
Stitch them together, and then move on to attaching the collar pieces. The collar needs special attention, as you have to stitch it on the back of the fabric, and then turn it out and press it. If you want, you can apply a top-stitch.
When you attach the collar to the shirt, you need to start by matching its center to the center back neck. It needs to be even on both sides, and shorter than the facings.
Now you have to fold both the facing and the yoke over. The collar is going to be sandwiched between the two. Pin it carefully along the neckline, and stitch it.
The yoke lining has to be pressed over the seam that attaches the yoke to the back of the shirt. You may also need to top-stitch it, in order to make sure it's going to look good.
The sleeves are the last ones to attach. Pin them first, and then sew and finish them using the finishing technique of your choice.
Before sewing the hem and the buttonholes, you need to iron your shirt, as this is going to ease your work a lot.
If you don't know how to make buttonholes, you can always apply snaps, as they can also look pretty good. Besides, they require less work than buttons, hence their popularity among sewing fans.
This is how to sew a shirt in a few easy steps. If you are a beginner, you may want to start with a easier project, as some of the above mentioned steps require some experience and skills you may not yet have.