I'm thrilled that so many of you have found my tutorial on sewing a shirt collar to be helpful. Thrilled enough to keep talking about sewing shirts. O'boy! I'm continuing to feverishly sew button-downs for my main dude, so I'm slowly learning (er, improvising) all the little tricks to getting better results each time. It's satisfying to watch my skills improve and to figure out my go-to methods that lead to consistent outcomes. Translation: I'm addicted. I also may have accidentally drafted a multi-size men's shirt pattern. Moving on!
Since I'm just a home sewer with run-of-the-mill equipment you can find relatively easily, I thought I'd share with you the extra "tools" I use regularly when sewing shirts to help get the details right. Some of them are hardly tools -- just stuff. This list includes items that I use in addition to normal sewing equipment/notions such as a machine, ruler, seam ripper, etc. So none of these are absolutely essential for sewing a nice-looking shirt. They just make it all a bit easier.
TOOL #1. GLUE STICK
I've always used a glue stick to help attach centered zippers on skirts, ever since I saw this tutorial on Sew Mama Sew a million years ago. Now I use one throughout the shirtmaking process, too, particularly when I need to secure something on the inside while sewing from the right side. To me, glue makes it easier to control the fabric and get it perfectly positioned, and can be faster than basting and more secure than pinning, especially on slippery fabrics that will immediately shift as you remove the pins during sewing. And the stakes aren't that high -- you can easily reposition something before the glue dries... or even after.
Here I use fabric glue from JoAnn's that claims it is water-soluble and won't "gunk up" your machine needle, but I've also used the regular ole office supply stuff in the past. Here's when I use a glue stick:
- To secure button plackets so they're less likely to ripple or drag when you're topstitching them down...
- To secure a pocket before sewing it on...
- To position the inner collar stand's lower seam allowance before edgestitching it in place from the right side...
- And to help make sleeve plackets by properly positioning all the folded parts (by the way, I use Pam's two-piece shirt sleeve placket tutorial which I highly recommend. She also uses glue at one point!)...
TOOL #2. EDGESTITCHING FOOT (edge stitching foot, edge-stitching foot, edge stitch foot, whatever)
Ever since getting an edgestitching foot (also known as a stitch-in-the-ditch foot or edge-joining foot), my shirtmaking confidence has skyrocketed. It has a centered guide that enables you to sew precisely at 1/16" or 1/8" from a seam or the edge of your garment, or directly within a seam if you need to. Of course it's not impossible to sew close to the edge without one, but I can't tell you how many times I used to seam-rip and redo my edgestitching, especially on the back yoke when there's a long horizontal line where any wave in your stitches is very obvious. I just couldn't stand the thought of people sitting behind me on the subway and staring at my crookedly-stitched yoke. NIGHTMARES.
It sounds fussy but I don't mind investing money in sewing tools that produce satisfactory results almost every time without having to put in much more time or effort to learn how to use it, and this is one of those things. I bought this generic snap-on foot from Amazon that works with most low-shank machines. It was about $10.
I use it on pockets...
The yoke...
Collar stand...
And sleeve placket...
TOOL #3. SCRAP FABRIC
You've probably heard this before, but one way to get even stitches when topstitching or edgestitching is to ensure your presser foot remains level. Have you ever tried to sew over a bulky seam or continue stitching after a pivot point, but the presser foot just won't move and your bobbin thread gets all tangled? It's likely because your poor foot is stuck trying to move uphill:
If you shove some scrap fabric under the foot behind the piece you're sewing, the presser foot will no longer be tilted up at an angle and it will sew forward much more smoothly. This was a game changer for me when top-stitching collars points and collar stands. No more tiny little struggle stitches on full display around your face!
TOOL #4. SLEEVE BOARD
This is probably one that's only worth it if you sew a lot of long-sleeved shirts (or other kinds of narrow tubes, I guess). Before now, I always just serged all my shirt seams, but now I've been forcing myself to make French seams or flat-felled seams because they're more attractive when the sleeves are rolled up, which for Corey and me is always. Pressing all the way down the sleeve seam is essential for this kind of finish, so it's just easier to have a sleeve board for this process so you can flatten out and fold the seams most efficiently.
If you're desperate, though, you can just stick a narrow rolled up towel down your sleeves, too, though it will be a bit squishy and may not get your seams as flat.
And that's it! I tried thinking of five tools but these are really the only ones I use regularly. I own some other stuff like an expanding buttonhole placement ruler gauge thingy, but I find it sufficient to measure buttonhole placement with a normal straight ruler.
What are your favorite shirtmaking tools? Any that I haven't thought of? Chime in, buttercups.
