How to make shirt waist smaller?

Question

How to make shirt waist smaller?

Answer 1

Darts at the waist. Probably the diamond-shaped dart in order to keep the hips the same size.



http://www.coletterie.com/tutorials-tips-tricks/tutorial-sewing-darts

Answer 2

Tie the shirts in front, if they are button down shirts, like they did in the 50's.

Answer 3

Fisheye darts and/or tapering in the side seams. Fisheye darts are double pointed darts, generally placed vertically in the front, straight down from the apex of the breast, but only extending a little way up to the ribcage. The widest part of the dart is at the waistline. There's a matching set in the back of the shirt in most cases, widest at the waist, and then narrowing quickly. The front and back darts should be sized so that the side seam runs straight up and down the body.



http://malepatternboldness.blogspot.com/2013/08/back-darts-and-risks-of-overfitting.html The photo of one of the pattern pieces has a fisheye dart marking on it... but you don't need to have them marked on the pattern to put them in.