How to Sew a Men’s Shirt! (Part 1 - Prep and Cut)

This is Part 1 of a series about the making of an ultra cool men’s shirt using fabulous circuit board fabric I found online.
If you’ve never made a button up shirt with a collar before, this series may help you understand the process at a high level before you try it.
I’m using New Look 6197 - an error-free sewing pattern which is pretty basic and relatively easy to sew for a collared button up shirt, but has an added pleat and yoke in back and side vents at the hem to give it a little extra oomph. This was my second time sewing with this pattern, and let me tell you - I don’t often sew up a pattern more than once, but this one I might have to revisit yet again in the future.
This video condenses about 4 hours of activity into almost 16 minutes, and takes you through the process of prepping and then using the sewing pattern to cut out your fabric pieces. So while I made an effort to leave in the most important stuff, clearly a lot of detail got left on the cutting room floor. So if anything is unclear due to this missing detail or if you have any questions for any other reason, drop them in the comments and I will be happy to help. Thanks for watching, and I hope you find this video helpful! :)
#Sewing #learntosew #MensFashion #collarshirts #collarcutting #maker #makers #sewinglessons #sewingtutorial #howto #howtosew #NewLook #NewLook6197 #geekfashion #circuitboard #sewingpatterns

[@bimmib265]

Thank you soooo much for this video. It is really easy to follow for a beginner like me. It has really boosted my confidence. Hopefully I will successfully make my first shirt this week!

[@amandachurchill7791]

I was so pleased to find your youtube tutorial. The pattern you are demonstrating is the one I brought to make my first mens shirt. Your video has been really helpful. Thank you so much. I look forward to watching more of your videos.

[@elianasews]

I am glad this is helping, Amanda! I was *just* in the middle of editing the latest installment, on making the collar. That’s the trickiest part, but take it a step at a time and you’ll get through it. Stay tuned, and good luck with your project!

[@Everybody_loves_stephanovic]

Hello Eliana, thank you for putting up great contents here. Your videos are very helpful. Please how do I get the pattern?

[@elianasews]

I’m so glad this is helpful! Pattern: simplicity.com/new-look/n6197 😊 (Or you might be able to grab it at your local Joann Fabric, if you live near one)

[@kaitlynnfrayn7469]

Hi! I’m still learning, this is my first big sewing project. Do you know when you’ll have part 2 up!? Love your video, its been extremly helpful!

[@elianasews]

I’m so glad you’re finding this helpful Kaitlynn! Not sure when I’ll have the next part up. I’m targeting within the next week - stay tuned! :-D

[@alexaelliott2598]

I never cut my patterns to allow me to grade between sizes or retrace my pattern when the pattern in use gets old and inaccurate from constantly snipping the slightest bit off each make.

[@elianasews]

I get the advantages of not cutting the pattern, especially if it’s a pattern you intend on remaking. I buy most of my patterns for $1.99 at Joann so it’s not a big sacrifice to permanently cut it to my size. And, I have SO many patterns that I rarely remake the same one. Finally, I believe in making the process as easy as possible for beginners. Tracing a pattern adds an extra step on top of a process that already feels exhausting to a beginner. I taught beginners IRL, and many found it difficult to so much as draw a straight line with a ruler. I’m pretty sure for some of these students, to be expected to trace a pattern using tracing paper would have led to them deciding that sewing was not for them. I fell in love with sewing and obtained excellent results as a day-one beginner through learning the process shown here, and so that’s the process I’m choosing to share. It would be a much longer video if I were to cover all the ways to do it. I do some things a little differently these days, 6 years into my sewing journey, but I would not change a thing about the way I learned. Some of the refinements to my process would not have been available to me as a beginner, when I lacked the fine motor skills and intuition gained from experience. But definitely appreciate your thoughts, and certainly did not mean to suggest this is the only way to do things! ☺️