Short Guy CPO Hemming
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If the whole idea of IH is to invest more time wearing fewer garments, then I figured my favorite shirt should fit as close to perfect as I can get it. No point in investing time in something that only fits pretty well. I started by shortening the bottom hem and slightly softening the curve.
I always feel that a shirt looks best when the front hits mid-fly, the back mid-pocket, and the sides just barely covering your pant pockets. I also wanted to keep it long enough that the space under the original bottom snap wasn’t so short that it looked weird. The last consideration was leaving just a bit of fabric that hung below the pocket bags so they didn’t hang out when I put something heavy in them.
I think the sleeves are next.
Before
Nervousness
After
I tried my best to replicated the original stitching on the placket
I also threw a couple bar tacks on either side of the name tab on the chest pocket, then removed the stitching between them to open up a pencil slot.Having just a little of your fly exposed really lengthens the look of your leg, and I need all of that I can get!
The above comment should be read with all the levity your current metal state will allow.
"Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work." -Thomas Edison
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Awesome work @Go-For-Chill
I have a lot of my shirts hemmed and it costs me a bunch. That's a great skill you have. The fit makes a huge difference.
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Looks awesome bro. Once you get the sleeves situated you’ll be gold!
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@Go-For-Chill great job and thanks for sharing all the details. Good luck with the sleeves.
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Everyone send their shirts to go for chill for any of your needs. He will be my new delivery address straight from IH.
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Damn I feel so validated! I have to shorten the sleeves on all my IH shirts. I need length shortened too but always nervous it will throw the proportions off. Yours looks so good, this really is a fantastic job you’ve done. There’s a sewing store/ clinic near my house and I’ve always wanted to take one of their courses. This may have pushed me over the edge. Thanks for sharing.
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@Lynne
High praise coming from you!That machine is a Singer 29K172 I picked up recently. Still tweaking it. This work I did on my Sailrite.
The above comment should be read with all the levity your current metal state will allow.
"Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work." -Thomas Edison
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I hadn’t considered incorporating the pocket bags into the seam. My biggest worry was throwing off the proportions. I felt that if the length of the placket under the bottom snap was shorter than the length between snaps, it wouldn’t look right. This was as short as I could go without crossing that line.
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@Go-For-Chill It’s a beauty. We’re going to be incorporating leather remnants from our jackets into Relove, so I’m keen to see it working vs how our flat stitchers here/hand sewing works. And vs the Sailrite. I’ve followed them for years and crave the portable machine. Which one do you have?
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This is a skill I really want to learn. Amazing job. Would love to hear the steps you’ve taken to get to this point. If you do the sleeves make sure to document it here!
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Not to belittle @Go-For-Chill 's achievement here, because what he has done is brilliant and I take my hat off to him.
But learning to sew is NOT difficult. I started out by patching my Levis in the early mid 70's, for my 18th birthday my mother gave me a (very) vintage hand cranked Singer (it is used in the repair shop at IH, to this day). I self taught myself and made corduroy trousers, chambray shirts, fishing vests, you name it. In the last house we owned, I made all the curtains and blinds. Sewing/making clothes is like anything, if there is a how-to book, it can be done (but watching youtube vids is even easier). Some people think it is a dark science, it is not.
As my late friend and member @Geo said. "Rocket science is not rocket science it is just a longer sequence of simple tasks than normal"
"OK face up to it - you're useless but generally pretty honest and straightforward . . . it's a rare combination of qualities that I have come to admire in you" - Geo 2011
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I agree with Giles. I started altering cheap clothes on my mother's sewing machine when I was about 14, so I liked them better. I still sew often today, now on a relatively new Singer because I wouldn't have the patience for repairs on an older one (even though I'd actually prefer it). I usually take my IH items to a Turkish tailor to have them altered so I'm completely happy with them. Long story short, what I'm trying to say is that sewing is fun, it's easy to learn, and IH items are meant to be altered if you want. Good job @Go-For-Chill !
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My ancient singer is a 100% manual, hand crank. I prefer it for mending/altering/making heavy fabrics, because I can muscle the needle through almost anything without the motor or clutch wimping it out. I can also "drill" through almost anything, by bashing the needle up and down in the same spot in a completely controlled fashion....
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@Lynne I have the Ultrafeed LSZ. I like it, but I originally bought it to keep on my sailboat. Now that it lives in my office, I’ll likely replace it with a full size machine. I use it for the occasional leather project as well.
The above comment should be read with all the levity your current metal state will allow.
"Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work." -Thomas Edison
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@Giles 100% agree. Sewing isn’t rocket surgery; although, getting seams looking as clean as your team does takes a decent amount of time behind the machine. I really enjoy the puzzle aspect as well. Figuring out how everything fits together and the order of operations is very fun.
Interestingly enough, I figured it would be a hobby that nobody repair found out about, but my wife seems oddly proud that her husband sews. She tells all her friends. Who would’ve figured.
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Agree with @Giles and @Go-For-Chill on sewing being a skill anyone can likely pick up for simple alterations like this. I've put together an entire industrial sewing shop in my garage just keeping an eye out on Facebook marketplace for the past couple years. For all 4 machines (with tables) and even upgrading two of them to servo motors, I've invested a total of $500. While I spent $600, I've gained a life long skill and saved myself, my friends, and my family no less than $2k in alterations costs and I've been able to keep things I would otherwise need to return or resell. Just two nights ago I brought in one of my favorite Iron Heart sweatshirts (IHTB-12-GRY) to keep it from draping so much around the waist, and there's nothing more satisfying than putting on a garment that fits perfectly, knowing it's sized just for you, by you.
It's also opened up a whole other size of shirts I'm able to buy on the second hand market vs being limited to searching for specific dimensions.
10/10 recommend.
