I’ve been getting posts all over my Instagram feed of people upcycling button-down shirts. Videos like this by studiobies, this video by ngnganhs, or this video by star.scraps.co just keep showing up in my feed.
Every time I see one of these videos (which is often), I want to make one of these tops for myself.
People cut off the bottom of the shirt, and sew it to the buttonhole side of the button band. Then, they use buttons, snaps, Chinese knots, or ties to secure the new flap in place. The finished shirts look a bit like a Korean jeogori, which is the top jacket part of a hanbok. I’ve also seen people call them “cheongsam inspired.”
I love this cut of top. I have long legs and a short torso, so I think a cropped shirt looks really good on me. I have a button-down shirt in my closet that I LOVE, but I don’t reach for anymore.
The color and pattern of this shirt are both perfect. All the designs are from horror movies (which I love). It’s a fun pattern that doesn’t feel over the top.
Why don’t I wear it? It’s too long. I used to wear tucked in button-down shirts every day, but I just can’t anymore. It’s too hot. I overheat SO easily, and tucking in shirts just traps the heat in. I pulled this shirt out of the back of my closet and got to work.
Cutting the Shirt Apart
I started by putting the shirt on and marking where I wanted my final hem to sit. Then I marked an inch down from that line to account for my hem. I used a rotary cutter to chop off the bottom so I could get a nice straight line.
BE WARNED. Some button-downs come with spare buttons sewn onto a side seam. This may seem like common knowledge, but I forgot, and almost clipped my spare buttons with the rotary cutter.
Once I had the bottom chopped off, I seam-ripped the two front pieces off the back piece. The big curved back piece is going to be the new front flap on this shirt. The beauty of this upcycle is that you really don’t have to design anything. The curve of the front flap is already decided for you, because you use the existing curve from the bottom of the shirt.
Adding a Lining
I took that curved piece and added a lining. This step is optional, but I wanted to be able to wear the shirt slightly unbuttoned if I wanted.
I didn’t want to lose any fabric from my front flap piece, so I (very carefully) seam ripped the original hem and pressed it open. Then, when I laid my lining down, I just sewed over the original hem’s seam line again. No fabric lost.
I also sewed across the top edge, so that would have a clean finish.
Sewing on the New Curved Flap
The next step is to sew the flap to the buttonhole side of the button band. To do this, I unpicked one side of the button band, and slid my new front flap in until it hit the buttonholes. After I sewed and pressed that seam, I went over it with a row of top-stitching so my front flap wouldn’t awkwardly bow up at all. While I was at it, I added a line of top stitching all around the front flap. I probably didn’t need to do that, but it looks really nice.
Finishing the Upcycled Shirt
We’re in the home stretch now! All that’s left is adding buttonholes and buttons, and hemming the shirt. I opted to wait to hem the shirt until I had done the buttonholes, but I don’t think it really matters what order you do the steps in.
I made sure that I had enough fabric below my last button to still do the hem like I wanted. I used the fancy automatic buttonhole setting on my mother’s machine, and it was MAGICAL. I feel like they turned out so professional looking.
I did a simple ½” double fold hem, and then the last step was sewing the buttons on. I confess, even after years and years of sewing, I still looked up a tutorial on how to sew buttons tailor-style. I followed this video by Paige Handmade. I thought it was super clear, and straight to the point!
And then I was done! I absolutely LOVE how this shirt came out. It’s the perfect length for me, and I love the asymmetrical look. It’s light and breezy for the summer, but it’s still polished enough that I feel a bit dressed up. (But it’s not so polished that I feel like I can’t wear it with jorts.)
If you’re a button-down shirt in my closet, count your days. I’m about to do this same upcycle to all the button-downs I own. I’m so glad I was able to turn a shirt that I didn’t wear often into a shirt I can’t wait to wear out.
How much do I love this upcycle!? I love a button down, but always get between-button gaps when wearing them, no matter how baggy or fitted I get them. This is such a great way to resurrect the shirts I already own and like without having to a.) sew down the placket so it can’t open and becomes a very awkward pullover or b. not wear my button downs at all. The print really suits you, and it’s a cute color, too.