First try the shirt on and decide how long you want it to be.
Then take a ruler and with a pencil mark off the cutting line be sure you leave at least 1 inch more than you want it to be for the hem. Get some straight pins and measure and pin up 1 inch. It helps
to press along this line. Take the pins out now. Fold the raw edge under and repin. If you have a sewing machine you can then machine sew it. You might want to read this article.

Here is a link that might be useful: Hemming

The only thing I would add to what 'colleenny' wrote would be you might want to wash the shirt first. Don't know how much the shirt might shrink.
Going to assume you have access to a sewing machine. You aren't going to hem the bottom of the shirt by hand are you? Although it's not hard to hem by hand, it's just tedious.
You'll want thread to match the garment color as close as possible.

If it makes you feel any better, I have two sons that were forced to learn to cook, clean, iron and sew, and they both made it (alive) to 30 years old!!!! They thank me on a fairly regular basis, since they both married girls who were never taught to do anything except go to school and look pretty!(and I love them both!!) The two of them have Masters' Degrees, and can't boil water...forget anything else!:^)
Good luck in your quest!!

I agree, wash it first the follow Colleen's advice. You will thank your parents in the long run, though you may not think so now. It costs $15 to have pants hemmed where I live, most people just can't afford that. You seem to be taking everything in stride and I commend you for that. Learn everything you can from everyone you can and you will do well.

beverly

Good luck with your project. It takes a little bit of practice to get the hang of it, but so helpful to know in a pinch.

Just for kicks, you might want to try sewing on buttons, too. It takes about 3 minutes and costs $5 if you take it to the dry cleaners.

Cook 2 or 3 things well, and you'll always be able to impress us girls. ;>

Sounds as though you have wise parents who know the end result will be their son can take care of his home and himself when he is out of college..also think long term as a bit of extra income from the non-sewing dorm mates.

As someone wisely said, you can't sew everything by machine so you will have to learn some hand sewing stitches and learn to sew a button on straight. You also have to learn to rip out stitches with a thread ripper when your stitching gets off line or make an error that's repairable.

It is also wise to do test samples and practice before diving into the shirt or any new project..you then know what you are doing and get good results.

Sewing is going to require some homework. If that sewing machine has a manual, read the manual first several times and then practice the manual page by page just like you would do when learning any new piece of equipment...you learn the machine and get sewing lessons at the same time. Then trot down to the local library and take out a few learn to sew sewing books and practice some of that. Don't forget you have mom to help you when you get stuck or confused about a technique.

As far as learning to cook that involves an oven, stove top (proper heat setting), safely using the family grill, and operating kitchen appliances like a mixer, chopper, etc., I can recommend starting with the easy stuff like packaged desserts (pudding, jello, and box mixes), making the family breakfast including scrambled eggs, use a cookbook (read the front, it always has a lot of good information), use measuring spoons and cups, read the recipe and directions first, make sure you have all the required ingredients, and then follow package and cookbook directions...reading, assembling, and doing at the same time sometimes doesn't work too well I discovered when learning.

Thank you all so very much! I wasn't expecting so much good advice. I washed the shirt and it indeed shrunk a little bit, still a bit to long, but nonetheless a difference. I have been practicing some stitching and whatnot by hand on some old fabric scraps my mom had and I think I'm getting the hang of it. However, we do not have a sewing machine, but we do have one of those "As Seen on TV Handy Stitch" thing-a-ma-jigs. The thing is still in the box, no one has used it yet. I popped out the manual and it seems easy enough. I just hope it works as easy as the commercial says it does! Thanks again everyone, I'll be sure to repost the results of the shirt. Thanks and take care!

Matt

Yeah for your parents but don't let that Handy Stitch discourage you. Maybe you can master this trade by getting you a used machine at a thrift store, yard or estate sale.

I have a 7 yr old great niece that has already figured out you can make some extra cash doing this stuff!!! I embroidery & when the machine goes from one section of a design or letter to another, it creates stitches called "jump stitches". These have to be clipped away when you finish sewing. She planned to stay with me after school yesterday & clip jump threads & make some money. Her dad got off at lunch & picked her up instead. Boy is she mad at him.

Congrats to your parents. I have 4 grand children, 3 are boys (toddlers) and sent what you wrote to my daughter so she teaches her kids early. The 9 year old granddaughter has her own machine and learning now. You will thank your parents later on.

Please let us know how your shirt turns out, maybe later we will have a bigger project for you to do, just to keep you going. Who knows, maybe you will enjoy it :)