How to Take In an Oversized Shirt

Two ways to slim a wide shirt

A too-wide shirt usually bags in the back and around the middle. There are two basic ways to remove the width, and the choice depends on how much you want to change and how reversible you want to stay:

• Back darts: two vertical darts in the back that draw in the loose width. Fast, sewn without opening any existing seams, and can be unpicked again – the best method to start with.
• Side seams: you open and take in the side seams (and the underside of the sleeve) to slim the whole shirt evenly. A more thorough result, but more work and harder on a tailored shirt with flat-felled seams.

Back darts – the easiest method

This is the trick tailors use to give a shirt a more fitted back without rebuilding it. You put two sewn folds in the back fabric, ideally level with the shoulder blades.

1. Put the shirt on inside out, button it up, and let the back lie smooth.
2. Pinch the loose width into two vertical folds at the back, one either side of the center back, symmetrically.
3. Pin them, mark the folds with tailor's chalk, and take the shirt off.
4. Baste the darts, try it on the right way out again, and adjust the depth until the back lies smooth without pulling.
5. Sew the darts with a pointed, gradual taper at each end, so no bulge forms where the dart ends.

Taking in the side seams

If you want to slim the whole shirt evenly, you take in the side seams. You then have to follow the seam on into the underarm in one continuous line, or you get a pucker at the armhole.

1. Turn the shirt inside out, put it on, and pinch in the same amount on both sides from the underarm down to the hem.
2. Pin in an even line, and be careful not to take in so high that the armhole gets tighter.
3. Mark, baste and try on before you sew for good.
4. If the shirt is a dress shirt with flat-felled seams, the seam has to be unpicked and re-laid first – this is where the job turns technical.
5. Sew from the hem up past the underarm in one line, trim the excess fabric, and finish the edge.

How much can you take in?

It is easy to over-slim a shirt. Stay within these limits:

• Never take in so high that the armhole shrinks – the shirt then feels tight and uncomfortable over the arm even though the waist fits.
• The button line at the front should still hang down the middle – take in unevenly and the placket pulls to one side and gapes.
• Leave a little breathing room; a shirt should button and move in, not sit like a tarpaulin.
• Always try on with basting before sewing for good – it is the only way to see whether the width is gone in the right places.

When should the shirt go to a professional?

If the shirt is a formal dress shirt with flat-felled seams, a shirt you want sharply fitted in both the back and the sides, or you have several shirts to slim identically, it is worth letting a tailor do the job. We take the shirt in to suit the garment and the fit, re-lay the flat-felled seams correctly, and keep the armhole and button line in balance. You send it to us from anywhere in Norway, you order online, and you see the price before you order.

Frequently asked questions