Here is a shirt that I got from my mother. I never wore it because the bodice was too low and the sides were baggy.

First pinch the excess on the sides to see how much it needs taken in. It looks to be about an inch to an inch and a half.

Then do the same with the shoulders. It’s about an inch and a half to two inches.

Next, flip the shirt inside out and sew the seams. I sewed one inch on the sides and one and a half inch on the shoulders. Because this was a stretch fabric, I used the Stretch Stitch on my machine.

When you sew the shoulder seam, it’s important to match up the collar and pin the fabric at an angle, so that as it gets to the sleeve, it comes to a point. This is so that the sleeve does not get sewn.



You can do this with pants, also. I had some pants that were baggy on me, so I sewed an inch on each side from the waist and came gradually to the seam of the knee, as I did with the shoulder seams. Now they fit!