- Daddy's old dress shirt might be unwearable after a sleeve gets stained, but if the rest of the shirt is in good condition it can have a new life as a dress. A man's shirt typically has enough fabric to make a sundress big enough to fit a toddler or preschooler. The body of the shirt, minus the collar and sleeves, serves as the dress body. You can make straps from a few strips of one good sleeve, or the shirt yoke.
- Making a purse or tote bag from an old button-up shirt requires a few additional supplies. Seam tape is the best option to ensure buttons do not come loose from button holes when the tote is loaded. Cut off the top section of a pressed and buttoned shirt, just below the arm holes. Use the bottom section as the bag base. Turn it inside out and stitch a seam along the bottom to form the bottom of the bag. Hem the top, secure button edge to button hole edge with seam tape, and add carrying straps.
- School textbooks and other hardcover books take serious abuse over the school year. In the old days, children covered their textbooks with brown paper grocery bags. A creative alternative is to use an old button-up shirt. When situated properly, the button section and shirt pocket can provide a convenient place to stick teacher notes or pencils. Scotch tape, seam tape or glue dots secure shirt edges inside the book flaps.
- That old button-up shirt holds more than a yard of fabric. Years ago, fabric scraps, or remnants, and old clothes were considered the most valuable source of fabric for quilt squares and appliques. In modern times, reconditioning an old shirt provides a wealth of options for quilts and quilt appliques. Even if just a few inches of fabric are salvageable, it's worth the time to save them. For appliques, less than a 4-by-4-inch piece of fabric is required for most pieces of the design.
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