Colorways By Vicki Welsh
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Make a Shooting Shirt


This tutorial is a bit incongruous with the rest on my website content but it's not incongruous for my life. I am learning sporting clay shooting and needed some extra padding on my shooting shoulder. My instructor recommended a shooting vest but since my super-power is sewing (not shooting yet) I figured I could make one for less than the $50+ price for a vest. Here's how I did it.

Note: I'm a left-handed shooter (even though I'm right handed with everything else) so I'm making the pad on the left side of my shirt. These instructions work on either side, just make the proper adjustments as you make your own hunting shirt.



make a shooting shirt
Picture
First, find a comfortable shirt. It can be a knit or woven. Just find something in your closet that fits comfortably and you are willing to dedicate to your sport.

Find a piece of woven fabric to use on the inside of the shirt to mount the pad. I found a dark green fabric that's close to the color of the shirt.

Now, try on the shirt and use some chalk to mark the outline of the pad area. The pad will extend into the seam allowance at the shoulder and sleeve. Don't let it extend all the way to the armpit seam. You don't need padding there and the bulk will be annoying.

Trace the size of the pad to the lining fabric. If you are worried about right and wrong sides of the lining fabric, trace the lines to the WRONG side of the lining fabric. At the shoulder and sleeve trace the seam lines. If you don't have tracing paper, put a piece of paper under the shirt and poke holes through the shirt into the paper around the edges of the pad. Poke the holes about 1/4 inch apart.

shooting shirt dyi
Cut out the fabric about 1/4 bigger than the outline all around. The chalked line in this photo is the actual size of the pad, the lining needs to be 1/4" bigger on all sides.

Cut out the padding to the exact size of the pad. For my padding I used 3 layers of Hobbs 80/20 batting. Why? Because that's what I had close by. 

I do think that a poly or poly/blend fiber will work best. If you don't have batting I think a great alternative would be a couple of layers of poly-fleece maybe from a discarded blanket or fleece shirt. Three layers of cotton/poly sweatshirt fabric might also work. The concern there might be the weight. The main features you want to look for are cheap and spongy/squishy. You want something that has some recovery when it's squished.

make a shooting shirt
Layer the padding layers and stitch a few rows of stitching just to hold them together. When stitching thick things like this use a but longer stitch length. I use a 3.5 stitch length.

Finish the edges of the lining layer so they will not ravel. I used a serger but you could zig zag the edges. If you are using a non-raveling fabric, like a microfiber you do not need to do this step.

make a shooting pad
Center the padding on the back side of the  lining and stitch all the way around.

make a shooting shirt
Turn the shirt wrong side out and position the pad in the shirt. The edges of the pad will overlap the sleeve and shoulder seams. Pin the pad in place on those seams and then stitch the pad in place on those 2 seam allowances. Just in the seam allowance. This stitching does not go through the shirt.

how to shooting shirt
Turn the shirt right side out. Smooth out the shirt in the pad area and pin it in place then stitch around the rest of the pad stitching only through the front and edges of the pad. I used the padding to guide me and stitched right next to the padding edge so that I was only capturing the edge of the lining.

Next I marked of a grid that's about 1.5" square in the diagonal.  

Picture
Stitch the quilting through the front and pad. You don't want anything too dense so that it keeps it's squishiness but you need a little something to keep the pad from wadding up during washing.

When I was first shooting without a pad I had some nerve issues with tingling in my fingers. It wasn't caused by shooting. It's just a problem that I have. With the padded shirt I had no problems on my last trip to the course.

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  • Welcome
  • Blog
  • Galleries
    • Quilt Gallery >
      • 2025 >
        • Hanover Country Life Quilt
        • Oak Moth Quilt
      • 2024 >
        • Red SunsetQuilt
        • Big Blue Quilt
      • 2023 >
        • Heirloom Bear
        • Firefighter Quilt
        • The Goldfinch
      • 2022 >
        • Summer Sunset Quilt
        • Soundwave Quilt
      • 2021 >
        • A Big Green Quilt
        • Finally! Quilt
      • 2020 >
        • Jackies Choice Quilt
        • Penguins on Ice Quilt
        • Corona Cats Quilt
        • Kim's Garden
      • 2019 >
        • Indonesian Batik Quilt
        • Lost My Marbles
        • Remaking Flora's quilt
        • I'm Not a Snowflake Quilt
        • Where In The World Is My Cat Quilt
        • Fireworks
        • The Groovy Quilts
        • The Puppy Quilt
      • 2018 >
        • The Maine Quilt
        • Stars At Sea
        • Antelope Canyon Quilt
      • 2017 >
        • The Wedding Quilt Quilt
        • Rainbow's End Quilt
      • 2016 >
        • CSQ Challenge Quilt
        • Wholecloth Quilt of Valor
        • Luras Choice Quilt
        • Black Swan Quilt
        • 2016 Quilt of Valor Quilt
        • Non Unus Pluma Quilt
      • 2015 >
        • Snaps Quilt
        • Batik Crossroads Quilt
        • Wild Goose Chase Quilt
        • Fractured Fragments Quilt
        • Tell It To the Stars Quilt
        • Cathedral Window Quilt
        • Time In Place Quilt
        • Shaken Not Stirred Quilt
        • Pleiades Quilt
      • 2014 >
        • Spinning Stars Quilt
        • Fractured Spiral Quilt
        • Autumn Leaves Quilt
        • Sea Dreams Quilt
        • Woodland Star Quilt
        • Zombie Ball Quilt
        • Innova Angles Quilt
      • 2013 >
        • Murder For a Jar of Red Rum Quilt
        • Patroitic Quilts
        • Red Sunset Bedding Quilt
        • The Infamous Fish Quilt
        • Gratitudes Quilt
      • 2012 >
        • Illuminated Blocks Quilt
        • Kims Wedding Quilt
        • Crossing The South Anna Quilt
        • Coming Home Quilt
        • See Reverse Quilt
        • Overboard Quilt
        • Floras Fans and Modern Crumbs Quilt
        • The Patriot Quilt
        • On Point Quilt
        • Grinch Quilts
      • 2011 >
        • Star Struck Quilt
        • On A Whim Quilt
        • Catena Quilt
        • Zig Zag Scraps Quilt
        • Purple Keepsakes Quilt
        • Fiberactions Challenge Quilts
        • Journal Quilts 2011
      • 2010 >
        • Maggie the Messmaker Cross Stitch
        • Fiberactions Challenge Quilts
        • Wootten Memory Quilts
        • Teal Tomorrow Quilt
      • 2009 >
        • Shereen's Peaceful Garden
        • TShirt Quilt Commission
        • Three Generation Quilt
      • 2008 >
        • Flora's Quilts
        • Monkey Baby Quilts
        • Citrus Quilt
      • 2007 >
        • Snails Trail Quilts
        • Quilts of Valor
        • Other Quilts
      • 2006 and older >
        • Scrap Bin Quilt
        • Flora's Dutchman's Breeches
        • The Gift Quilts
        • Reversible Quilts
        • Spectacular Scraps Quilts
        • Foundation Pieced Quilts
        • Art Quilts
        • Kathy's Memorial Quilt
    • Symmetry Quilt Gallery
    • Dyeing Gallery >
      • Tie Dye Gallery
      • Shibori Gallery
    • Postcard Gallery
    • Fused Glass Gallery
    • Mosaic Gallery
    • Zentangle and Spirograph
  • Tutorials
    • Save My Bleeding Quilt
    • Quilting Tutorials >
      • The Gift Quilt Pattern
      • Keepsakes Quilt Pattern
      • Blocking a Quilt
      • Facing A Quilt Tutorial
      • Veterans Quilt Tutorials >
        • Allegiance Quilt Pattern
        • Gratitudes Quilt Pattern
        • Strength Quilt Pattern
        • Blockade Quilt Pattern
        • Redoubt Quilt Pattern
        • Regiment Quilt Pattern
        • Bars and Stripes Quilt Pattern
      • Rainbow Quilt Free Pattern
      • Binding a Quilt
    • Surface Design Tutorials >
      • Ice Dyeing tutorial
      • Snow Dyeing basics tutorial
      • Snow Dyeing Mandala
      • Sun Printing Tutorial
      • Lamp Printing Tutorial
      • Dyeing extra large fabrics
      • Hold the Retayne
      • Painted Shower Curtain Tutorial
      • Metallic Paint Effects on Fabric
      • Curing Metallic Fabric Paints
      • Zentange Pens
      • Leaf Printing Tutorial
      • Printing On Fabric
      • Life of MX Dye Concentrates
      • Testing Soda Ash in fabric dyeing
    • Placemat Tutorials >
      • Rise and Shine Placemat Tutorial
      • Coming Home Placemat Tutorial
      • Mineral Pool Placemat Tutorial
      • Sugar Maple Placemats
      • Fat Quarter Placemat Tutorial
      • Merry Mats Placemat Tutorial
    • Basic Tutorials >
      • Custom Sewing Table
      • Liquid Spray Starch Recipe
    • Crafts and Small Projects >
      • Surgery Drain Bag Tutorial
      • Drawstring Bag Sewing Tutorial
      • Large Tote Tutorial
      • Big Fabric Flower Tutorial
      • The best potholders pattern
      • Notebook Cover Tutorial
      • Pillowcase tutorial
      • Wide Brim Sun Visor
      • Trash To Treasure Holiday Ornaments
      • Pet Bed From Scraps Tutorial
      • Framed Metal Quilt
      • Shooting Shirt Tutorial
      • Making Paper
      • Making Soap
      • Favorite Soap Reicpes
      • Lotion Making
      • Bowl hot pad pattern
    • Longarm Quilting Tutorials >
      • The longarm machine does matter
      • Double Wavy Crosshatch
      • Wavy Crosshatch Longarm
      • Quilting Letters on a Quilt
      • Centering a Quilt back on a longarm
      • Quilting Snowball Blocks
      • Easy Longarm Piano Keys
      • Using Channel Locks
      • Sewing/Serging quilt backing to zippers
      • Adding backing on the longarm
    • Crochet and Other Tutorials >
      • Crochet Wheelchair Shawl
  • Contact