Extra Large to Medium Size T Shirt

My daughter and I were in New York City for a few days in the end of October just for fun! One of the amazing things that we got to do while we were there was to go to a filming of the "Late Night With Seth Meyers" show! Before the show started, they had a comedian come out to warm up the audience. He gave a few people a t shirt for answering a question. One question he asked was "Who is married the longest?" I had no doubt it would be me with 49 years! For that answer he gave me a souvenir t shirt! But.....it was a men's extra large size shirt which is way too big for me to wear! Afterwards I tried to get a smaller shirt but they said they didn't have any. So....when I got home, I decided I would sew it to be my size which would be a men's medium. I measured, pinned and sewed it, and I am very happy with the result! Here is how I did it!

Sewing machine

matching thread

straight pins (on a wrist pin cushion)

seam ripper

sewing scissors

tape measure

First I placed my shirt to be resized on a table. Then I covered it with a shirt that fits me to compare how much smaller the shirt needed to be.

I was surprised the neckline was smaller on the shirt I was fixing, so that could be left as it is.

I compared the size of the sleeves. I decided I didn't need to cut them. They measured an inch wider at the inner seam of the sleeve.

I needed to turn the shirt inside-out for sewing the seams.

I turned one sleeve inside the shirt, making sure it was flat. I pinned it in place and sewed 1/2-inch along the inner seam of the sleeve, removing the pins before sewing where each was. Since it was a fold, that made the sleeve 1-inch shorter in length. Then I sewed the other sleeve the same way.

I placed the smaller shirt on the larger shirt again to compare the sides. There was about 1 extra inch on each folded side. If spread open that would be 2 inches on each side, which is 4 inches total!

I pinned along each side of the shirt including under the sleeves.

I sewed 1-inch along the entire side of the shirt including along the bottom of the sleeve. I then repeated this on the other side of the shirt so they would match.

I placed the smaller shirt over top again to measure the bottom of the shirt. The hem was about 2 inches too long. I just folded it up 1-inch, then I folded it up another inch and pinned it all of the way around.

I then sewed all around the folded bottom of the shirt.

I tried on the finished shirt and I was very happy with the fit!

That is how I easily was able to resize my shirt from a men's extra large into a men's medium shirt! I was happy that I didn't need to do any cutting of the material. That made it so much easier and quicker to sew.

And now you know if you ever have a t shirt that is too big on you, that you can make it the size you would like it to be. I hope you enjoyed this Instructable as much as I enjoyed redesigning my shirt! I know I will be happy every time I wear my new Seth Meyers Show shirt!!!