Today I’m sharing one of my favorite upcycled projects for kids—a DIY art smock created from an old dress shirt! It’s a quick and easy sewing project. This is my favorite art smock for kids – perfect for messy play and painting sessions.

If you have a child who paints like Jackson Pollock, this smock is your new best friend. Bonus? You probably already have everything you need at home!

This is a beginner sewing project and sews up very quickly. The back of the dress shirt becomes the front of the smock. Elastic at the wrists helps protect the sleeves of your child’s clothing from creatives messes.

I am always on the look out for dress shirts at the thrift store, but you can always make this out of a family member’s old dress shirts. How special would it be to make a smock for your child out of Grandpa’s old shirt?!?

MATERIALS NEEDED:

• button up dress shirt

• 1/4 inch elastic – 2 x 7 inch pieces

• bias tape

• accent fabric for pocket

Note about elastic cuffs: You might have to adjust the size of your elastic to fit your child’s wrist circumference.

For the pocket I like to pick a fun print. You can use any cotton fabric you like. I often cut up an old garment to use as the pocket.

SEWING INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Cut collar and cuffs off of your shirt.
2. Fold raw sleeve edge 1/4 inch and press. Fold over again to make casing for elastic and press. Repeat on other sleeve.
3. Sew elastic casing leaving a gap to insert elastic. Insert elastic into casing then over lap ends of elastic and stitch together. Sew along casing gap to secure.
4. Sew bias tape on along neck.
5. Sew pocket on the front of the smock (back of the shirt).

I like to make my own bias tape to match the pocket using a bias tape maker.
Here is a great tutorial for DIY bias tape:
HOW TO MAKE BIAS TAPE (BIAS BINDING) THE BEST WAY

Below is a well used smock that I made for my boys years ago. You can see by the paint on the smock how well the smock protects clothing, especially at the sleeves. Kids have a tendency to drag their sleeves through paint!

If you make an art smock I would love to see it! You can tag me on instagram @handmadejoydesigns #handmadejoyblog

FAQ

What kind of Sewing Machine do I reccomend?

I get asked a lot what kind of sewing machine I use. I love my Singer Heavy Duty machine. This Singer is great for sewing thick fabrics like canvas and denim. It is very user friendly which makes it great for beginners as well.

More Sewing Tutorials:

• Bunny Backpack Sewing Tutorial
• Candy Wrapper Zippered Pouch Tutorial
• Among Us Plushie Pattern and Tutorial