Sew Two Pairs of Shorts from One T-Shirt, Tute #1: Comfy Shorts from Upcycled T-Shirt Sleeves

If there’s an interesting graphic on the upcycled T-shirt’s front that you’d like to use, cut it out and applique it directly onto the shorts. The edges won’t ravel, so you don’t have to turn them under or finish the raw edges in any way. As an additional modification, there’s plenty of room in these shorts to slit the side seams and add roomy pockets.

Depending on the size of the shirt that you used and the size of your child, you may have had to gather the waist of your shorts in quite a bit with that elastic, since this pattern isn’t modified to be able to trim the waist when cutting the shorts out. Therefore, these shorts may not be super-cute on your kid. They are, however, incredibly comfortable, so they make excellent pajama shorts (without the flame retardant chemicals that you can find in store-bought children’s pajamas), and they’re also the kind of shorts that your kid can wear to get really, really dirty without you having to freak out that your child is wearing their precious handmade shorts in the mud pit.

Tomorrow, I’ll be using the body of that same upcycled T-shirt to make a second, legitimately cute, pair of shorts or capris for a kid. Need part two? Check it out right here!