Tutorial: Upcycled Men’s Shirt to Fun Skirt

I love taking old clothes and revamping them. I recently took one of my husbands old buttonups and made it into a skirt! Here’s what you need:

• 1 Men’s button up shirt
• 0.5 yards 1/2 inch wide elastic
• Matching thread
• Interfacing- 1/4 yard

1. Draw a line from arm pit to armpit and cut the bottom of the shirt away from the sleeves and shoulders.

2. Cut the sleeves away from the collared portion of the shirt. Then cut the seam open so you have 2 flat pieces of fabric. Cut off the cuff. We will use this for the waistband

3. Cut two 4-inch strips from the sleeve.

4. Measure your waist. One 4-inch strip will be the front flat waistband. The other will be the back with the elastic. I measured from hip to hip to get the measurement for my body. Obviously this will vary depending on who you make it for. For the front waistband, you’ll need to line it with interfacing.

5. Sew the front and back waistbands together creating a loop. I used 1/2 inch seam allowance.

6. Find your center point and mark. Then line and pin your elastic in place!

7. Fold your waistband in half lengthwise with wrong sides together and press.

8. Stitch your elastic on the side you pinned to secure it.

9. Now we need to gather the shirt to match the size of the waistband. Sew 2 gathering stitches, then gather shirt to size of waistband.

10. Pin the waistband to the skirt leaving a hole open close to the side seam. Be sure to leave the hole open opposite the side you secured the elastic.

11. Now it’s time to try it on! Pull the elastic as tight as needed to get the desired fit. Secure by stitching elastic to waistband, then cut off excess. Sew hole shut, then you are done! Iron and wear it to town!

I ended up sewing a stitch down the center front so the button placket would not gap open when I sat down.

Super easy make! I also would suggest using a larger size shirt, so you have more room. I’m a bit hippy and used a size large. I think it would be a little cuter if the skirt was more full!