What Is My Goal?

When starting a new project, it's helpful to know what your goal is.  My goal is to alter a men's shirt to fit me properly.

Here is my plan:

1. Find a men's shirt in a fabric I like, which has a collar and cuffs which fit me properly.  Buy two to make sure I have enough fabric for the side panels of a princess seam shirt pattern.
2. Choose a women's shirt I already own that fits me well.
3. Create a princess seam pattern from the front and back panels of that shirt.
4. Take the sleeves off of the men's shirt, and open the side seams.
5. Make a pattern of the front and back of the men's shirt where the sleeves attach, so that I can keep the exact proportions of the sleeve attachment in my altered pattern.
6. Cut the men's shirt body down so that the shoulder's are the right width, the front follows the front panel pattern of my princess seam pattern, and the back follows the back panel of my shirt pattern.
7. While doing this make sure the sleeve holes still match the original proportions of the shirt's sleeve holes.
8. Cut out the princess seam side panels from the second shirt.
9. Sew everything back together.

This blog is about my adventures while trying to make this scheme work.