Upcycled shirt forms the majority of my upcycling projects so far.
As I’ve mentioned in an earlier post, men’s shirts is my favourite category of clothing to repurpose. The larger size just gives me flexibility to experiment with shape, length and silhouette.
We usually find a lot of people we can directly donate shirts to. So I don’t put shirts in my upcycling kitty if I find someone who’d rather wear it. I use them as is so it can be donated later.
Why did I Upcycle this Shirt?
My brother has a bunch of shirts that he has discarded as they are either faded, torn or don’t fit anymore. I found this shirt in his discard pile and chose it for the colour.
I also found myself yearning to have one of those shirts with interesting sleeves. Puff sleeves are doing their rounds all over, aren’t they!
These days I just try and make what I yearn for with what I have. So instead of shopping I decided to go for an upcycled shirt.
Hence, for this upcycled shirt with puff sleeves, I started figuring how I could scrunch up the sleeves and open out the neck.
How did I Upcycle a Men’s Shirt into a Puff-Sleeve Shirt?
Firstly, let me tell you I have no official training in sewing or designing. I only figure what best I can do for my body type, pick up a needle and thread and have at it.
For this shirt I wanted the gather to be on the upper arm near the shoulder.
So first, I made small pleats on the sleeve joint gathering it up from the inside. I gathered it enough for the sleeve to end around my elbow (I can still play with the length based on where I close the shirt sleeve cuff). Then I sewed the gathered pleats on the joint.
I left the lower few inches of the shirt straight.
Next, I gathered chunks of the sleeve from the outside and put small tucks. I put 4 tucks on each sleeve. This made the puff stand on the outside and gave it a sharp, gathered look.
Pleated sleeve joint 
4 tucks on the other side
Lastly I tucked the collar edges to the shoulder joint, turning it into a wide V neckline.
You’ll see all these interesting sleeves on all shopping sites. I like the design and I can tell you with a little effort you can just upcycle a shirt into a similar style instead of making a new purchase.
Puff sleeves are still in fashion and if you’re half good at sewing you can just DIY. I felt quite the sense of achievement once I finished and wore this upcycled shirt!
