Button Up Shirt Sewing Pattern – Free PDF

The Button Up Shirt is the kind of shirt you reach for every week: a soft convertible collar, a clean button placket, long sleeves gathered into neat buttoned cuffs and a curved hem that looks good tucked in or worn loose. It is relaxed through the hips, with just enough shaping at the bust to look tidy.

This free button up shirt sewing pattern is drafted for light to medium-weight wovens, like cotton poplin, lawn, chambray, linen or viscose. It is a great project to practise real shirt-making skills, one at a time: darts, a front placket and a button facing, a collar with neck facings, a bound sleeve opening, pleated cuffs and buttonholes. The steps below are written in sewing order, so you always know what comes next.

→ Jump to the free download

1 cm (3/8″) seam allowance · 2 cm (3/4″) hem allowance included

Printable sewing tutorial

Need help completing the project?

Get the full printable tutorial for the Button Up Shirt: detailed step-by-step sewing instructions with clear illustrations, line sketches, a sizing guide and the list of materials you need.

• Illustrated diagrams for every step, from the collar to the bound sleeve opening
• Size charts, finished measurements and fabric amounts per size
• Video guides for the key techniques, with links and QR codes
• Printable PDF, instant download

Shop now

Design details and fit of the Button Up Shirt

• Convertible one-piece collar, finished with neck facings, that you can wear buttoned up or open
• Separate front button placket on the right and a button facing on the left, with 8 buttons
• Side bust darts on the fronts, shoulder darts and a centre back seam on the back
• Relaxed A-line body that skims the hips, with a curved hem
• Long sleeves with two pleats, a bound sleeve opening and a buttoned cuff

The pattern is drafted for a height of 168 cm (5′6″). It has about 5.5 cm (2 1/8″) of ease at the bust and 8 to 9 cm (3 1/4 to 3 1/2″) at the hip, so it is comfortable without being boxy. Read all the steps once before you cut: the collar and the sleeve opening are the two parts that ask for the most care.

Sizing guide

Drafted for a height of 168 cm (5′6″). Choose your size by your bust measurement in the table below, then check the finished garment measurements to see the ease. If you are between two sizes and your hips are fuller, choose the larger size. Not sure? Read how to choose your size.

Letter sizes: 00/0 = XXS · 2/4 = XS · 6/8 = S · 10/12 = M · 14 = L · 16 = XL · 18 = XXL · 20 = 3XL · 22 = 4XL

Body measurements

Finished garment measurements

Bust, hip and hem width are full circumferences. Back length is measured at the centre back, from the neck seam to the hem. Sleeve length is measured from the top of the sleeve cap to the cuff seam.

Fabric requirements

The amounts come from laying out every piece of the largest size in each group, without a nap, plus about 8 %. The fronts are cut from a single layer. Add extra for directional prints, checks or stripes you want to match, and pre-wash your fabric the way you will wash the shirt.

Common fit adjustments

Length. Lengthen or shorten the fronts and the back by the same amount between the bust dart and the hem, and change the right front placket (11) and the button facing (6) by the same amount, so they still reach the hem. Change the sleeves above the opening mark.

Between sizes. The shirt is relaxed at the hip, so most people can choose by the bust alone. If your hips are much fuller than the chart, go up a size or blend to a larger size at the side seams below the bust dart.

Sewing notes

Choosing fabric for a button up shirt

A classic shirt looks best in a crisp or softly drapey woven. Cotton poplin gives a sharp collar and neat cuffs, and it is the easiest fabric to sew if this is your first shirt. Cotton lawn and voile are light and breezy for summer. Linen or a linen-cotton blend has a relaxed, textured look, and you can roll the sleeves up. Viscose challis or a light crepe drapes softly and feels dressier. Double gauze or a crinkle cotton, like the one in our photos, adds texture and hides small mistakes.

Use a lightweight fusible interfacing so the collar and the placket hold their shape without turning stiff, and always fuse it with a press cloth. Sew with a new universal or microtex needle, size 70 to 80, and a stitch length of 2.2 to 2.5 mm.

Sewing steps

Seam allowance 1 cm (3/8″) unless stated otherwise. Sew with right sides together, finish each seam with an overlocker or a zigzag stitch as you go, and press after every seam.

1. Prepare and interface. Transfer all the markings to the wrong side of the fabric. Fuse interfacing to the wrong side of the cuffs (5), button facing (6), front neck facings (7), back neck facings (8), collars (9), edging (10) and placket (11). For a softer collar, interface the upper collar only. Staystitch the necklines of the fronts (1, 2) and the backs (3) 6 mm (1/4″) from the edge, so they do not stretch.
2. Sew the front bust darts. Fold each bust dart right sides together, matching the dart legs, and pin. Stitch from the side seam toward the dart point, backstitching at the side seam. At the point, sew off the fold and leave long thread tails. Knot the tails and press the darts down.
3. Sew the back shoulder darts. On each back (3), fold the shoulder dart right sides together, matching the legs at the shoulder edge. Stitch from the shoulder edge toward the point, knot the thread tails and press the darts toward the centre back.
4. Sew the centre back seam. Pin the two backs right sides together along the centre back, matching the notch. Stitch from the neckline to the hem, finish the seam allowances separately and press the seam open.
5. Make the right front placket. Fold the placket (11) in half lengthwise along the FOLD line, wrong sides together, press and unfold. Fold it right sides together and stitch across each short end, 1 cm from the edge, stopping at the seam line of the long edges; trim, turn and press. Pin one long edge of the placket to the front edge of the right front (1), right sides together, with the finished top end level with the neckline seam line and the lower end at the hemline. Stitch and press the seam allowances toward the placket. Turn the placket to the inside along the fold, press the other long edge under 1 cm so it just covers the stitching, and pin. From the right side, topstitch 3 mm (1/8″) from the seam, catching the folded edge underneath, then topstitch the outer folded edge the same way.
6. Sew the left front button facing. Pin the button facing (6) to the front edge of the left front (2), right sides together, and stitch from the neckline to the hemline. Press the seam allowances toward the facing, then press the free long edge under 1 cm. At the lower end, fold the facing onto the right side of the front and stitch across it on the hemline, 2 cm above the lower edge; trim and clip the corner. Turn the facing to the inside and press. From the right side, topstitch 3 mm from the front edge, then stitch the folded inner edge down. Baste the top edges of the facing and the front together, 6 mm from the neckline.
7. Sew the shoulders. Pin the fronts to the back at the shoulders, right sides together, matching the neck and armhole edges. Stitch, finish the seam allowances separately and press the seams open.
8. Make and attach the collar with the neck facing. Pin the two collars (9) right sides together and stitch the two ends and the long outer edge, leaving the shorter, notched neck edge open. Trim the seam allowances to 5 mm, cut the corners, turn right side out and press, rolling the seam slightly toward the under collar. Baste the neck edges together 6 mm from the edge. Sew the two back neck facings (8) together at the centre back, then sew the front neck facings (7) to them at the shoulders; press the seams open and finish the outer, unnotched edge. Pin the collar to the neckline with the under collar against the right side of the shirt, matching the centre to the centre back seam and the notches to the shoulder seams: the left end sits at the front edge of the left front, the right end at the placket seam. Baste. Pin the neck facing on top, right side down, matching the seams, and fold each end back 1 cm: on the right it lines up with the placket seam, on the left with the inner edge of the button facing. Stitch through all layers, from the left front edge to the placket seam. Trim to 6 mm, clip the curves every 1.5 cm and trim the small corner of the right front above the placket. Understitch the facing, turn it to the inside and press. Slipstitch the folded ends to the placket and the button facing, and tack the facing to the shoulder seam allowances. Fold the collar along the roll line and press lightly.
9. Sew the side seams. Pin the fronts to the back at the side seams, right sides together, matching the bust darts, the notches and the hem edges. Stitch from the armhole down to the hem, finish the seam allowances separately and press the seams open.
10. Make the sleeve opening. Stitch around the V-shaped opening mark on each sleeve (4) with small stitches, pivoting at the point. Cut along the centre of the V up to the point, without cutting the stitches. Spread the opening into a straight line, pin one long edge of the edging (10), right side to the wrong side of the sleeve, and stitch 6 mm from the edge, keeping the V stitching just inside the seam allowance. Press the other long edge of the edging under 6 mm, fold the edging over to the right side so the fold just covers the stitching, and edgestitch it in place. Fold the sleeve right sides together along the opening and stitch diagonally across the top of the edging so it lies flat. Press the edging on the front side of the opening (the side with the pleats) to the inside; the back side stays out as an underlap.
11. Set in the sleeves. Sew two rows of long stitches along the sleeve cap between the EASE notches, 5 mm and 8 mm from the edge, leaving long thread tails. Fold the sleeve right sides together, stitch the underarm seam, finish and press. With the shirt wrong side out and the sleeve right side out, slip the sleeve into the armhole, right sides together. Match the single notch to the front, the double notches to the back, the top notch to the shoulder seam and the underarm seams together. Pull the thread tails to ease the cap so it fits without pleats, pin and stitch 1 cm from the edge. Finish the seam allowances together and press them toward the sleeve.
12. Sew the cuffs. Press the 1 cm seam allowance of one long edge of each cuff (5) to the wrong side. Fold the cuff right sides together along the FOLD line, stitch the two short ends from the fold to the edges, trim, turn and press. Fold the two sleeve pleats in the direction of the arrows and baste them inside the seam allowance. Pin the unpressed edge of the cuff, right side to the wrong side of the sleeve, with the cuff ends level with the edges of the opening. Stitch at 1 cm, trim to 6 mm and press the seam toward the cuff. Fold the cuff to the right side so its pressed edge just covers the stitching, pin and edgestitch all around the cuff.
13. Hem the shirt. Press the lower edge 1 cm to the wrong side, then another 1 cm, easing the fullness on the curves with the iron, and pin. Stitch close to the inner fold all around. At the placket and the button facing, fold the end of the hem in and slipstitch it to the placket or facing. Press.
14. Make the buttonholes and sew on the buttons. Make vertical 1.2 cm (1/2″) buttonholes on the placket at the marks (8 for sizes 00 to 18, 9 for sizes 20 and 22) and cut them open carefully. Lap the placket over the left front, matching the necklines and the hems, mark the button positions through the buttonholes and sew on the 1 cm buttons. Make a horizontal 6 mm (1/4″) buttonhole at the end of each cuff and sew a 5 mm button on the other end. Give the whole shirt a final press.

Tips and common mistakes

The collar is the tricky part. Baste the collar to the neckline before you add the facing, and clip the curve well after stitching. A collar that sits flat comes from careful trimming, clipping and pressing, not from fast sewing.

Do not cut through the stitches of the sleeve opening. Stitch around the V with small stitches first, then cut exactly to the point. If you cut past the stitching, the opening will fray.

Test a buttonhole on a scrap. Use the same layers as the placket (fabric and interfacing) to check the size and the stitch before you sew the real ones.

Press as you go. A home-made shirt looks professional because of the pressing: press every seam right after you sew it, and use a press cloth on the interfaced pieces.

How to style the Button Up Shirt

Office: in poplin, half-tucked into high-waisted trousers, like our wide leg pants sewing pattern.

Weekend: worn open as a light jacket over a tee, with jeans.

Summer: in linen, with the sleeves rolled up.

Dressy: in viscose, tucked into a midi skirt.

More shirts to sew: try our fitted princess seam shirt sewing pattern or the long maxi shirt dress sewing pattern.

Care

Wash at 30 °C, or as your fabric needs, inside out and buttoned up. Do not tumble dry: hang the shirt on a hanger to dry. Iron while it is still slightly damp, collar, cuffs and placket first, then the sleeves and the body.

Questions

Happy sewing!

Love our free patterns? Buy us a coffee to keep them coming, or simply share, pin and comment. Thank you!

Support me on Ko-fi