Burda Style For people who sew

Finally, I have gotten around to preparing and uploading the instructions for drafting a man's shirt. As for my other blocks, I will provide instructions in both imperial and metric measurements. Also, I incorporate both the shirt block and the sleeve block within this technique, but I will prepare separate instructions for the cuffs, collar, collar stand and sleeve plaquet, as these are likely to interest a broader group of people than the men's shirt per se. These instructions are for a fairly casual shirt - for a more fitted dress shirt, they would need additional manipulation or a different set of instructions. Note that these instructions are inspired by and partly based on blocks found in Winifred Aldrich's book, "Metric Pattern Cutting for Menswear". I've adapted these blocks to some extent for my needs, but her book is very thorough and provides many more blocks for a range of contexts - I strongly recommend the book which is a mine of information.

Technique Materials

As for all my drafting instructions, you will need large sheets of paper (I use newsprint, as it is cheap), a long ruler (I use a plastic ruler about 2/3rds of a meter long or 24 inches), and, ideally a French Curve (although a dinner plate can do in a pinch).

• Intro
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• Get Instructions (PDF, 1.5 MB)

5 Comments

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  Nov 13, 2010, 07.14 AMby ohjoy

  So i promised my brother i would make him a peacoat, and after much searching have come up empty when it comes to mens patterns. While i’ve drafted patterns in the past its been for toddlers and hes 16 anyways point is how could i adapt this sleeve to look for like the sleeve you would find on a coat or jacket? Any help would be appreciated. Thanks for this technique by the way super helpful!
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  Jul 27, 2010, 12.06 PMby hottqui

  i tried making a shirt but it was too small.r thea any additional measurements you add for men?
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  Jun 23, 2010, 06.27 AMby Sajith Sivasankaran

  Thanks. I think points V and W are interchanged. Please confirm.

  1 Reply

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    Jun 26, 2010, 11.41 PMby gedwoods

    Yes… I’ve corrected the instructions in both steps 14 and 16 to account for the switch. Thanks for the report… sometimes I’m working on these things in the early hours of the morning after long stints at the computer, and I do make a few errors like this! It’s a good thing someone is paying attention :)

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  May 24, 2010, 07.55 PMby whatimake

  Can this be made a downloadable PDF?

  Thanx if so.

  1 Reply

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    May 25, 2010, 12.55 AMby gedwoods

    Thanks for pointing out that the PDF option is not available for this Technique – it should be as both the one before and the ones after it provide the option. I have submitted a formal complaint to the BurdaStyle team about this question.

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  Apr 25, 2010, 01.04 PMby lbcdesignstudio

  Thank You. I am sure this will help me with mens shirts. :)