




Do you have a t shirt that you love, but it doesn’t fit anymore or has gone out of style? Give it a second life by making something else out of it. Here are some great upcycled t shirts ideas and tips.
Knits are “sew” fun to work with and there are so many fun things you can make with them, especially children’s clothing.
Although, nowadays, little kids’ t-shirts are usually cheaper just to buy already made, than to purchase a pattern and fabric (not to mention the time involved).
However, if you already have an existing shirt to use for fabric, and an EASY pattern, then making something can be quite fun and save you a lot of money!
Have you priced good-quality interlock knits lately? They are not cheap and the selection is usually poor.
This piece of knit with 5 % spandex was $12.99 yard.
So if you have a shirt that has good quality fabric, good colors, and design, and you don’t wear it anymore, MAKE SOMETHING COOL WITH IT!
Here are a few ideas of what to do with upcycled t-shirts:
- baby and children’s shirts
- leggings
- little girl skirts
- cut strips for braided rugs
- bracelets
- whatever you can imagine………
- baby beanies
- T-Shirt Yarn
Here are a few before and after photos

I used this polka dot shirt to make a skirt……..

……….. and this shirt to make a comfy double fold yoga waistband for the skirt.
Ta-dah! I added a cute green pom pom trim on the bottom and look what a cute whimsy skirt these upcycled shirts made.
You can get the pattern for this skirt HERE.
Felted wool sweater strips make up this cute skirt. (pattern can be purchased in my Shop).
I used this shirt for the waistband.
This purple turtle neck wasn’t the most attractive shirt to wear, however, it was good fabric and worked really nicely for the yoga waistband on this simple fleece skirt.
So instead of going in the trash, or to the thrift store, this shirt came in real handy!
I love cutting strips of t-shirts and winding them up into a ball. Not only do they look cute sitting in a basket, but there are a lot of fun things to make with strips of knit shirts.
Here is a link to a video tutorial on how to cut up the shirt into t-shirt yarn.
Go to Pinterest and type in the search ” t-shirt strips” and you’ll find all kinds of fun things to make.
If you haven’t seen my post on how to make these adorable baby beanies from upcycled t-shirts, you can find it HERE.
In a previous post, I show and give some tips on how to cut out t-shirts to get them ready for projects and how to use the fabric for other things.
So, that was a mouth full. I hope you find it inspiring and gives you a few ideas.
Have fun sewing my friends!

Jan Howell
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Jan Howell
Whether it’s a new recipe, a fun craft, or some handy tips for your garden and home, I hope to empower and inspire you with skills that you can use to create joy, improved health, and to do it in a simple way.
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