Shirtmaking By David Page Coffin

David Page Coffin's Shirtmaking Approach

The book sits on my bench next to a stack of muslins that exist entirely because I followed it too literally on my first run. It's thorough. Some might say too thorough. The method centers on drafting your own block from body measurements rather than pulling from a commercial pattern, then building up from there with specific construction sequences that differ from what you'd find in a typical sewing class. What makes it stand out is the attention to the under collar, the gusset, and the way the sleeve cap interacts with the armhole. Most home sewers skip those details or approximate them. Coffin doesn't. He gives you the full geometry.

Shirtmaking By David Page Coffin

I used his method to draft a shirt for a client with unusually broad shoulders and a pronounced upper back curve. The standard proportional assumptions in most drafting systems break down there. With Coffin's approach, you're working from actual measurement points, so you can adjust the shoulder slope and back width independently without throwing off the rest of the block. That was the practical difference I needed. The process starts with taking ten to twelve body measurements, which takes about ten minutes if you have someone standing still. Then you draft the front, back, sleeve, collar, and cuff blocks on paper. I use tracing paper over a grid sheet. It takes roughly 45 minutes per block once you've done it a few times. The first time is longer because you're cross-checking every line against the measurement chart. After the blocks are cut out, you test fit a muslin version. This is where most people rush. Don't. I've made shirts with the sleeves set backward because I was too eager to get to the final fabric. A proper muslin fit check catches those problems before they become irreversible decisions in good material.

The construction sequence Coffin recommends goes roughly like this: assemble the collar stand and under collar first, then attach the collar to the band, set the placket, join the shoulder seams, set in the sleeves, attach the side seams and underarm gussets, finish the cuffs, and finally join the collar assembly to the neckband. Each step has specific seam allowances and pressing instructions that matter. The sleeve gusset alone can add fifteen to twenty minutes per shirt but eliminates the tearing issue that shows up around the armscye after repeated wear and washing. One thing the book doesn't emphasize enough: fabric choice dramatically affects the difficulty level. Poplin behaves predictably. Linen fights you at every seam. I learned that the hard way when my first linen attempt had the collar roll asymmetrical by about a quarter inch because the grain shifted during pressing. The workaround was interfacing the outer collar with a slightly heavier weight than the under collar and using a shorter press time with more steam rather than dragging the iron across the fabric. That balanced the roll. Another counter-intuitive point is the sleeve cap ease. You'd think more ease means a better fit. It doesn't. Coffin shows that the optimal cap height relative to the armscye depth is tighter than most people start with. Starting with too much ease creates bulk that shows through lightweight fabrics and makes the sleeve look puffy even when the rest of the shirt is tailored. The sweet spot is roughly a 1 to 1.5 inch ease distribution across the entire cap, spread evenly, not bunched at the front or back.

The collar rolling technique is another area where experience diverges from the printed instructions. The book describes a three-point roll method where the upper collar extends slightly beyond the under collar at the points, center back, and buttonhole side. In practice, achieving that consistency requires a steady hand with the understitching. I found that clipping the seam allowance at 3mm intervals near the points and using a bone folder to push the seam line just past the stitching line while pressing gave me repeatable results. A needle point tool works too, but it takes longer and risks poking holes in fine fabrics. Here's the honest part about the method: it's time-consuming. A well-drafted and constructed shirt using this approach takes somewhere between 6 and 10 hours depending on your skill level and fabric. That's before you account for fittings and revisions. If you're making shirts as a side project, plan on dedicating a full weekend for one garment. If you're trying to produce multiple shirts in a week, you'll burn out or cut corners. The block-drafting system also assumes a relatively stable body measurement. If your client gains or loses significant weight, you're essentially starting over with a new block. Commercial patterns solve this differently through grading rules, but Coffin's system doesn't include a detailed grading methodology. You adapt by adjusting the existing block measurements rather than grading from a base size. It works, but it's not as streamlined for production runs.

Another limitation: the book covers traditional woven shirts almost exclusively. If you're working with knits or stretch fabrics, a lot of the seam construction and ease distribution logic needs adjustment. The principles hold, but the execution changes enough that you can't just substitute without testing. I'd recommend starting with a medium-weight cotton broadcloth for your first three shirts. Once the muscle memory for the construction sequence clicks, you can move to finer fabrics. The investment in time pays off after about the fifth shirt, when the process starts taking 3 to 4 hours instead of 8 or more.