revamped shirt with wristwarmers tutorial

Here's a fun little tutorial about recycling and revamping a shirt by lengthening a shirt to make it a tunic, adding sleeves to warm your wrists, and reshaping a neckline.

One brown shirt, bearing the logo of my favorite little chocolate shop started the whole thing. The fit just wasn't quite right, and it languished in my closet waiting for inspiration.

The inspiration was this pink striped shirt. It had been attached to a tank top as part of a tunic, but the tank wore out so I cut it off, along with the hem of the sleeve on the chocolate shirt. Cut the wristwarmer section either part of the body or the sleeves of another shirt, adding about 1/2" for seam allowance. These are about 8" long but could be longer or shorter depending on how you like it. Fold the wristwarmer section with the right sides together and sew a tube that is wide enough to fit over your hand. If you are using a shirt sleeve, stitch along the seam to make a tube. The idea is to make sure that the openings in the sleeve and the wristwarmer section are the same size.


Slip the wrong side of the wristwarmer onto the sleeve so they are right sides together. Stitch with a stretch stitch (it looks like a little lightning bolt) or use a serger. Turn right side out and try it on. If it needs tightening, you can turn it back to the wrong side and stitch it again, making the tube a bit smaller.

For the neck, cut the collar off the shirt. Try it on and make little cuts or pin before you cut it out since stretchy shirts look different on your body that when they are laying on your cutting table. The new neckline could be square, v-neck, scooped or asymmetrical.

Cut 1" strips of fabric for the trim on the neckline. If you want a ruffle, stitch down the middle of the strip with the longest stitch length on your machine. Pull one of the threads and gently squish the fabric along the stitching to make either a tight or loose ruffle. Lay trim pieces along the newly cut neckline and stitch with a stretch or zig zag stitch.

For the bottom, cut off the shirt hem and measure the length you want to add. Cut and sew it into a tube that is the same size as the bottom of the shirt. Turn it wrong side out and slip it over the shirt so the right sides are together. Stitch with a stretch stitch or serge.