Painting smock made from a man’s shirt

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This was a Christmas gift for my mom, who’s wheelchair-bound, with advanced Parkinson’s. She can no longer sew, and wants to try painting. So I made her a painting smock, upcycled from a man’s shirt.

The pockets and other add-ons are made with fabrics from my stash.

Here are some of the details.

  • The front pockets can hold supplies.
  • The ties go around the shoulders; not across the back, so she can get the apron on from the front, without being lifted out of the chair.

To protect her sleeves, I made these coordinating sleeve gaiters from chambray in my stash. You can also see the shape/template of the apron as it was cut from the front of the shirt.

And another smock!

After finishing the smock and then looking at the leftovers, I realized there was another smock in the back of the shirt, so I made her a second one, too.

How are the aprons working out? Well, she hasn’t shared any feedback (or paintings) with me yet, so I can’t assess the success. But I got a big smile from her when giving her the smocks, so I know they are appreciated and will be used.

Is there a tutorial? I didn’t take progress pictures to make into a tutorial. But if you do an internet search (like this) for images of aprons from upcycled men’s shirts, you’ll see a bunch of inspiring examples like I did before starting my project. The examples were all I needed, but the search will lead you to tutorials if needed.

12 thoughts on “Painting smock made from a man’s shirt”

  4. Sorry to bug you…but I’m interviewing a former radio Disc Jockey on a post…I will ask why they wear a song out but if you can think of any other questions you wanted to know…if you wouldn’t mind tell me and I’ll ask. He did Rock and Country in the 90s and 2000’s.

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    1. The interview will be a good read! My first question that comes to mind is probably lame, but it’s, “If you could reach back in time and revive things that DJs used to do, say or play on the air, what would you bring back?”

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      1. Thank you…I will use it! I have only asked you, Hans, and Dave…that is it…I wanted varied questions…it should run next weekend. I think it will be fun.

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