Shorten Button Up Shirt Sleeves – Sewing Tutorial

January 11, 2023 by Anne Weaver Leave a Comment

Isn’t it annoying when the sleeves of your button up shirt are too long? Mine seem to always be about inch too long. Sure, you can roll them up but it’s nicer if the sleeves are actually the right length. Heather Handmade shows how you can shorten button up shirt sleeves. This is an easy alteration that doesn’t take as long as you’d think it would. And it’s so much better when your shirt sleeves are the right length!

[photo credit: Heather Handmade]

And if your button up shirt has more issues than just sleeves to be shortened or is just plain worn out, why not upcycle it into something else entirely? You can make something really cute, while keeping an old shirt out of the landfill.

You can turn a button up that’s too big for you into a cute off the shoulder top. This refashion keeps the button placket and classic styling of a button up shirt, but gives it a more flirty, feminine style.
You an also turn an old button up shirt into a simple short sleeved top with a button placket down the back. I love this idea because it keeps the details of the button up, but in a way that you wouldn’t expect.
Or how about a color blocked shirt? Here’s a tutorial showing how to use a button up shirt to make a pretty color blocked sleeveless top. It’s pretty made with lace color blocking but a floral print t-shirt knit would also be super cute.
This tutorial shows how you can upcycle an old button up shirt into a tote bag. How cool is that! This one uses a flannel shirt but it would also be fun out of a dress shirt.

For even more ideas, here is a roundup of ways to upcycle a button up shirt.

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DIY Kids Gingerbread House Bag with Free Pattern

I am just smitten with this felt gingerbread house bag. This would make such a sweet special Christmas accessory for a kid. It’s a free pattern at Benzie Design, designed by Gracie from Hello Gracie Makes. It’s packed with adorable gingerbread house details, like swirls and stripes and scallops adoring the doors and windows.

And while all those details might seem like this would be a complicated pattern, it’s actually not. The bag itself is made from felt, which makes finishes edges unnecessary. (All of those scalloped edges are just cut from felt, no edge finishing required.) The strap is super simple, made from rope with knotted ends. And all those details are made with some basic hand embroidery stitches. Sparkle felt makes it extra cute.

The striped scallop roof is actually the top flap of the bag. A magnetic snap makes it a secure closure. The rope straps are attached through felt loops at the side of the bag.

They rate this project as an intermediate level, and it should take about 6 hours to make start to finish. That’s doable for a Saturday project or a couple of evenings. Full color photos step you through the entire process.

The project includes a shopping list for all of your supplies. They’ve got a shop so you can order all of them from Benzie if you like and get exactly the supplies used in the project. I noticed it includes a pair of scallop shears, which makes cutting all the scalloped edges for the roof and around the door a breeze.

Finished dimensions of the little felt gingerbread bag are approximately 6 ½” wide x 7 ½” tall. That’s the perfect size to hold a small book, a small toy, or a notepad and some cute pens.

Go to Benzie Design to get the tutorial and free pattern for the felt gingerbread house bag.

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