How to Make a Shirt Bigger

I have this button down shirt that I love but it also doesn’t quite fit, so I came up with this way to make a shirt bigger so it fits better.

This is a technique that works for button-down shirts with folded over button bands, or you can add a different fabric to move the buttons and make the shirt wider.

Using this method comes with a disclaimer: it only works if your shirt has folded over hems wide enough to cover the space you need filled, and, because industrial machines can be terrible to fabric, you may still have visible holes where the original stitching was.

I like this shirt enough and wanted to keep wearing it that I was willing to accept the holes, but I might mend them someday, too.

Getting Started Making a Shirt Wider

The first thing you need to do to make a shirt bigger is gather a few tools. The most important things will be a small but sharp pair of scissors and a seam ripper.

For re-sewing the button band and the buttons back on the shirt you’ll need a sewing machine with thread the same color the shirt used (mine is white) and a sewing needle. You’ll also need an iron and ironing board.

Use the tiny scissors or thread snips to cut the threads attaching the buttons to the shirt. I pulled the button away from the shirt and clipped the threads between the back of the button and the front of the shirt.

Once all the buttons are removed, use the seam ripper to rip out the bottom hem where the button band is sewn into it and the button band seam itself. Here you can also see where I removed a little logo tag that was on the bottom of the shirt.

I left it attached as it was at the collar because we’re not making the collar any wider. When the stitching is all ripped out, iron the button band well. (I will deal with the lint later, I promise!)

Sewing the Button Band to Make a Shirt Bigger

What you do next depends a little bit on how much fabric you have to play with and how much wider your shirt needs to be. Try the shirt on and mark where you need the button to go relative to the buttonhole on the widest part of your body that’s covered by the shirt.

Take the shirt back off and determine how much fabric this gives you to play with for the seam on the back. You want enough room for the buttons to be sewn on and ideally have a bit of fabric on the outside edge not covered by the button.

I determined I had about a quarter inch to play with.

First I zig-zagged the raw edge of the fabric (you can use pinking shears if you’d rather) then I used my hot ruler to press down the seam allowance. I decided I had enough to fold inside itself so I pressed it again with the raw edges inside.

If you don’t have extra fabric just fold it over once and make sure the edge is finished well (zigzagged or pinked) so it won’t unravel.

Using matching thread, sew this seam.

Fold up the bottom seam as it was before and sew that seam.

Using the mark you made before, sew on the first button.

Try the shirt on again to make sure it fits this way and mark the remaining places where the buttons need to go to correspond to their button holes. (I used heat erasable pen but the marks are so small I didn’t try to erase them.)

Try your shirt on again to make sure all the buttons are lined up correctly and everything fits. If there’s lint on your shirt like there was on mine, a lint roller or a dry washcloth should take it right off.

Being able to make a shirt bigger isn’t something you’re going to need to do a lot in your life, but knowing that it might be possible to do without adding more fabric is a good thing.

Have you ever tried to make a shirt bigger? I’d love to know what you did. I have another technique I’m going to try for when you don’t want to or can’t use the existing button band fabric, so stay tuned!