Camp shirt sewing pattern

A camp shirt is a boxy, short-sleeved shirt whose collar lies open on the chest, with small lapels formed by the fronts folding back: the resort shirt, the Hawaiian or aloha shirt and the bowling shirt. It has no collar stand and no cuffs, which makes it a friendlier first shirt than a classic button-up. Sewly drafts it from your bust or chest and shoulders with a relaxed fit, then cuts the front facings in one with the fronts and shapes the collar to your neckline.

Camp shirt options

Every option redraws the pattern instantly, without using any AI:

• Fit: relaxed (the default), fitted, regular or oversized, with extra chest ease for a boxier shirt.
• Collar: a one-piece camp collar (default) with classic, spread, long or rounded points and a collar size from 70 to 150 %.
• Front: a plain folded cut-on facing (default). The buttons are spaced for you at 11 mm (7/16 in), or you set their number and size.
• Sleeves: short (default), or cap, elbow, three-quarter or long, set in or with a dropped shoulder.
• Length and hem: hip length with a straight hem by default, plus a length adjustment, side slits of up to 25 cm (10 in), or a curved shirttail hem.
• Back: a straight yoke (default), or curved or pointed, with an optional box, inverted or side pleat below it.
• Pockets: one chest patch pocket (default), two, or none.

Made to measure or a standard size

Use your own measurements or a standard size: women's EU 32–54 (US 0–22, UK 4–26), men's XS to 3XL, or children's 2 to 14 years. Women's versions get bust darts unless you choose the oversized fit; men's and children's are cut straight. Because the fit is relaxed, height, bust or chest, waist and hip are enough to start, and your shoulder width refines where the sleeve sits.

Best fabrics for a camp shirt

Fluid or crisp wovens both work: viscose, rayon challis, linen, cotton poplin, Tencel, seersucker or silk. Viscose and rayon give the soft drape of a vintage aloha shirt; linen and seersucker stay crisp and cool. Large prints suit the boxy shape, and on a bold print it is worth matching the pocket to the front. Our post on sewing viscose covers cutting and pressing fluid fabrics.

How hard is it to sew?

An intermediate project. The camp collar is simpler than a collar on a stand: it is sewn to the neckline in one seam, with the front facings folded back over its ends. The care goes into the flat-felled seams and keeping a slippery viscose on grain. Allow 6 to 8 hours.

What's in the pattern

• Two fronts with the facing cut in one, and a back cut on the fold
• Back yoke, cut twice: outer and inner
• Collar, cut twice (upper and under collar), with its interfacing
• Two sleeves
• Chest pocket

Notions: 11 mm (7/16 in) buttons, five on an adult shirt, light shirt-weight fusible interfacing for the collar and facings, and topstitching thread. The guide lists each piece with its cut count, the notions with their quantities, the fabric quantity for 110, 140 and 150 cm (45, 55 and 60 in) wide fabric, and a cutting layout.

How to sew a camp shirt

1. Fuse the interfacing, staystitch the neckline and, on a women's shirt, sew the bust darts.
2. Finish the edges of the front facings and press them along their fold lines.
3. Sew on the chest pocket.
4. Attach the double yoke at the back and shoulders.
5. Make the collar and sew it to the neckline, with the facings folded back over its ends.
6. Set the sleeves in flat, then sew each side and sleeve seam in one pass.
7. Hem the sleeves and the body.
8. Make the buttonholes, sew on the buttons and press, letting the lapels roll softly.

For neat insides without a serger, see finishing seams without a serger; for the buttonholes, how to sew buttonholes and buttons.