Fitting the Slow Shirt
The fit of the Slow Shirt is exaggerated and lusciously oversized, with dropped shoulders and back pleats. The finished hem falls to mid-thigh, and the sleeves have enough length to allow for dramatic pooling of fabric above the cuff.
The instructions walk you through the steps of choosing your size. Start with body measurements, and it truly is worth the time to take them at the start of each project! Bodies change and fluctuate, so starting with accurate numbers is really helpful. We have a blog post here to help you with that!
Common Adjustments
Once you’ve found a size (or a blend of sizes) on the body measurements chart that works with your measurements, take a look at the Finished Measurements. You’ll get some really helpful data here that can inform your size choice and any potential changes you may want to make. Here are a few tips:
- If your bust, waist, and hip fall into different sizes, go with the size that aligns best with your full bust circumference unless your high bust is two or more sizes smaller than your full bust AND your waist and hip are consistent with the size that your high bust falls in.
- Make sure that you’re happy with the finished length of the shirt. The chart shows the finished measurement from HPS (High point shoulder, that is the highest point of the shoulder seam where it meets the neckline) the the front hem at the longest point. We have a blog post all about adjusting the shirt length here.
- Double check the sleeve length. The measurement on the chart shows the distance from the CB neck all the way to the edge of the cuff. To allow for the intentional fit of the sleeve, this measurement should be 3” longer than your body measurement from CB neck to wrist. If you need to adjust your sleeve length, we have a blog post here to help you with that.
- Don’t feel the need to blend between sizes if you’re looking at a one or two size difference! The generous ease means that you don’t have to micromanage the sizing too much. Phew!
Don’t be afraid to lean into the oversized fit of this one!
It’s so fun to style, and the drama takes what could be a plain shirt to a whole new level. Take a look at our photos and reels for some styling inspiration!
Consider Fabric When Thinking about Fit
The drape or hand of the fabric will impact the look of the final garment – softer fabrics will fall more gently, and more stable fabrics will emphasize the dramatic ease and collar shaping. The suggested fabric weight range is 2.5 oz to 6 oz (90 to 204 GSM). Choose a light- to mid-weight woven fabric with no stretch, like shirting, poplin, plain weave cotton or linen or Tencel, flannel, chambray, light twill, or yarn dyed or sandwashed wovens.
Mammoth plaids make a luscious winter layer, while white poplin makes a chic and seasonless shirt. Plain linen can be layered up in the cooler seasons, and worn over a swimsuit as a breezy summer layer.
I love sewing shirts, so I bought this immediately! I love the idea of an oversized shirt with pockets.
I noticed on the pattern page that the sample sizes were not mentioned. What size did everyone make? My chosen size 22 has a finished bust of 72″. I’m a true petite (5’1″ and usually shorten everywhere), so that seems very oversized! I think the fit on everyone looks really good, but I’m worried I’ll be swallowed in fabric if I don’t get the width vs proportion right for me. ☺️
Any guidance is appreciated. 🙂
Hi Desiree,
Great question 🙂 Everyone’s fit is true to size in the product photos. If you usually shorten “everywhere”, I’ll assume that you mean sleeves too? Check out the sleeve shortening blog post for some helpful tips here: https://sewliberated.com/blog/slow-shirt-lengthening-or-shortening-the-sleeves , and if you’re going to shorten, see this post: https://sewliberated.com/blog/slow-shirt-bodice . If you’re 5’1″, you’re 4″ shorter than our drafted size, so you could expect to shorten the shirt length by 2.5″ to 3″.
Happy sewing!
I do like the idea and looks of this pattern. You say ” if your bust, waist, and hip fall into different sizes, go with the size that aligns best with your full bust circumference unless your high bust is two or more sizes smaller than your full bust AND your waist and hip are consistent with the size that your high bust falls in.”
What you don’t say is what to do IF your high bust is more than 2 inches smaller that you high bust. Would this require a full bust alteration for a D or E cup size?
Great question Elizabeth! I’m assuming that you were asking about if your high bust is more than two inches smaller than your full bust? Our patterns are drafted for a C cup, so 3″ difference between high bust and full bust, and even for a D or E, I probably wouldn’t make a change! If you’ve read my fit notes before, you might raise your eyebrow at me because I do love precise game plan… but this shirt kinda stretches the rules a little. Because the armscye falls at about the midpoint between shoulder and elbow, and the side seams don’t sit that close to the body, adding a dart is not as cut and dried on this style. I’d recommend choosing for your high bust-waist-hip if that’s all pretty close in size, and then take a look at Ashley’s photos in the pattern page. She’s wearing the white linen. She usually gets an FBA but we didn’t on this design, like I’ve suggested.
Do you want to send me (Judith) an email if you want to talk through your measurements in more detail and get advice on your specific sizing decision? I’m happy to help! support@sewliberated.com
I love the shirt and I know its main feature is its oversized fit, but I’m also wondering whether making a not very oversized version from the pattern would also be possible. My measurements go gradually from 12 (bust) through 14 (waist) to 16 (hips) – what size do you think would still look OK, but not dramatically oversized?
I’d suggest starting with size 12. It sounds like it will be a match for the neckline since you haven’t mentioned cup size at all, and the collar is the area where I’d be paying attention to choosing the right starting point. I double checked your body measurement of your hip against the finished measurement of the intended size (12), just to make sure that you are happy with the generous ease, but with only a two size jump, you’ll be fine: Even if you’re making size 12 and your hips measure size 16, you’ll still have 19.5″ of ease. Plenty of drama and no size blending needed… but still oversized. That’s sorta the essence of the design, so it’s built into every detail.
If you keep on sizing down in attempt to go even *less* oversized, you’ll run into trouble with the neckline and cuff being too small. If a more fitted shirt is what you want, then the perhaps the Joanie shirt might be a better option? It’s a completely different style, but not oversized, if that suits your vision better.
I am finishing up my slow shirt and see the instructions mention templates for button placement. I haven’t been able to find them in the pattern pieces. I am using the projector file. Am I just not seeing them? Thank you.
Thanks for asking, Belle! They’re in your downloads folder here on the website, and/or in your download package if you downloaded all files together. The file is called BUTTON-TEMPLATE_SlowShirt and it’s a PDF. 4 pages for your home printer, because the placket is so long! (We didn’t include it in the projector file because you’re not going to be doing the buttonholes at the same time as the cutting. But if you don’t own a regular home printer, and always use your projector, I’d be interested in whether you’d turn your projector back on to use the button template! Feel free to reply or email!)
Happy sewing 🙂
I usually do a forward shoulder adjustment for my tops to prevent them from riding back. I was curious how the oversized nature of the slow shirt would affect shoulder adjustments if at all. Thanks!
It’s a great question! You can see in the diagrams how I drew in the actual “shoulder seam” location, and how the style line is a bit forward of that… I find that weight plays a part in this! The back yoke is physically heavier because of its two layers, so sometimes playing with the balance of weight helps some figures to feel like the top is more stable.
When tops aren’t “anchored” to the body, sometimes they’ll shift as we move (like reaching into cupboards, for example. Big arm movements might mean you want to adjust the top when you stand up. When I wear the collar buttoned all the way up, it has a more reliable anchor (my neck!) and stays put! If the shoulder fit were incorrect, it would still feel chokey WITH the collar buttoned, since the back would still be trying to steal length from the front. I have two Slow Shirts without these changes and one Slow Shirt with, and wear them all equally, even though I do love the adjustments I made on the green Shirt shown here.
Thanks, Judith for the information! I do not see the diagrams you are referring to in the comment, but I think that I understand what you are saying!
Ah, they’re here! https://sewliberated.com/blog/slow-shirt-forward-should-adjustment
☺️