Shirt sleeves

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SkirtDude

Shirt sleeves

Post by SkirtDude »

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crfriend
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Re: Shirt sleeves

Post by crfriend »

SkirtDude wrote:Quite some time ago I tried to make a simple "cross" tunic using a design similar to those found at http://www.cs.vassar.edu/~capriest/viktunic.html and did not like the way the sleeves fit. Real people don't have square shoulders and arms, maybe :alien: s do?
Likely, you're seeing historical or period designs which have little commonality with what we see in design today. Guys haven't worn tunics in a few generations, and pattering and technology have come a long way.

My advice would be to take the pattern you're thinking of, and try to adapt it to a disassembled favourite shirt. By doing that you can get the best of all worlds, and you can play with the design as well.
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Post by crfriend »

SkirtDude wrote:My sample piece is a women's blouse that I've always liked the fit of. [...] The driving force for this question is that the sample piece has very oddly shaped arm holes. They are not remotely round and even if they were I do not have a compass that big.
The fabric you choose to make your garment out of is entirely up to you. That said, if you're not the best of tailors do a prototype in something cheap if you really like expensive fabric.

As far as the button closure (that's a pain to get at) try envisioning the garment as being perpetually fixed at that point and figure where you'd like the fastener to be and gauge accordingly. Think about building a prototype from muslin that you can fiddle with. It's important to be able to get into, and out of, a garment without too much hassle; extreme designs that require help only work if you have someone on hand reliably who's willing to help at a moment's notice.

For round shapes, who needs compasses! Use a tack, a piece of string, and your chalk to do the marking. That's an age-old trick and works quite well. If you need repeatability, knot the string in the appropriate spots, tag it, and save it for future use. String is cheap. If the shape you're after isn't round, contemplate using a scanner and then scale the resulting image to get the desired shape. Print that, cut it out, and use that as a template. (Alternatively, find a local mechanically-inclined individual who has a pantograph.)
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Post by Since1982 »

I've done a lot of sewing my own skirts and other things. About 20 years ago, I thought about making myself a tunic type garment and this is what I did.

I started with a white uniform shirt with buttons down the front. I bought some white twill material that was the same color and thickness of the shirt and sewed a belt area to the bottom of the shirt and the top of the skirt I sewed to connect the 2 parts together. I added belt loops and added a zipper in the front at the usual place. I made the skirt of the tunic A-line and to mid calf. The first time I tried it on I was enthralled. It fit perfectly and over about 18 years it finally wore out. I've thought of making another one but don't have any more of those white uniform shirts or have been able to buy white twill of the thickness I wanted.

I could put it on either over my head or step into the button area and pull it up and button the front. :kiltdance:
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Post by Uncle Al »

Hey Skip----do you have any photos of your design?

You've given a nice description, but a picture is
worth a thousand words.. :) :twisted: :D

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Re: Shirt sleeves

Post by AMM »

SkirtDude wrote:Anyway, what I am currently wondering is why every shirt I look at in my closet has round holes in the torso that the sleeves go into. Is it just tradition or is it necessary for things to fit properly?
I have a little experience in this area, though I wouldn't exactly claim "expertise."

A good place to try is the Usenet group "alt.sewing" There may be sewing websites, too.

I'm not sure what you mean by "round holes," exactly. I do know that human bodies don't have sharp corners, so you normally want rounded stuff. Another consideration is that inside corners (corners where the cloth covers more than 180 degrees) will tend to focus the stress, so that's where things will tear first.

One consideration I discovered the hard way: the front and back of the "bodice" have to extend further below the arm holes than above. That is, you can't take two rectangles and add sleeves, it just won't work. The underarms are too tight, there are big wrinkles across the shoulders, etc.

This is because your body is not flat. If, say, you measure your shoulders and you get 18" across, your body will be something like 18" wide, but the cloth across your chest has to cover these 18 inches plus something like 4--6" to reach halfway to the back. (The back piece reaches the 4--6" from the back to halfway.)

That's why patterns for dresses and shirts always cut off the top corners with a 1/4 circle cut.

And the pattern for the sleeves looks nothing like what you would naively expect. I won't even begin to try to explain it.

My suggestion is to take some paper and try to fit it to your body. You can do a little snipping and folding and taping until you get something that doesn't look too bad.
SkirtDude wrote:I'm thinking of making my prototype with angular "miter joints" for the arms in order to simplify the pattern. Also, since the shirt is intended to be loose (the sleeve holes are 16-20" circumference) I think I am more likely to get away with it.
When you do so, keep in mind that you are joining a round tube (sleeve) to a somewhat flattened tube (torso.) Also keep in mind you are going to be moving those arms: straight over your head, straight down, back, and front.

I usually make the sleeve a little larger (like 50% :) )than the hole and gather the sleeve to fit the hole to make it looser. I also add some fabric to the armpit side so it won't be so tight.
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Re: Shirt sleeves

Post by Since1982 »

Uncle Al, unfortunately no, I never thought about making another one like it and by the time I might have snapped it, it was holy and worn out. At least the shirt part was..I cut off the skirt part and still have it as a skirt after re-sewing the waist so it didn't look untidy. Twill is a very strong material and very hard to rip or tear. :thewave:
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Re: Shirt sleeves

Post by Uncle Al »

Skip,

Awwwww Shucks!

Did anyone get a pic of you wearing it?

Any kind of pic would be nice no matter how old it is :D

Uncle Al
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Grand Musician of the Grand Lodge, I.O.O.F. of Texas 2008-2009, 2015-2016,
2018-202 ? (and the beat goes on ;) )
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Re: Shirt sleeves

Post by Since1982 »

Sorry but no, when I had that, I wasn't skirting publically, so was keeping my skirting life completely inside my house. I was still wrapped up in the mental image of being arrested for wearing anything unVictorian in public. I've only been a public skirter since 2002..except for the time on Bikini atoll.:thewave:
I had to remove this signature as it was being used on Twitter. This is my OPINION, you NEEDN'T AGREE.

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BrotherTailor

Re: Shirt sleeves

Post by BrotherTailor »

I would suggest Raglan sleeves for a casual tunic.
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