Mood DIY: How to Sew a Button Sleeve Shirt

Simple details are a favorite of mine. When I saw these small, round buttons on Mood Fabrics, I immediately wanted to make something with a vintage feel. Since the buttons would be the focus, I decided to make a basic t-shirt with a lovely sleeve detail.

Fabrics & materials used:

• 1 yard Ivory Satin Faced Silk Crepe
• 22 Ivory Round Plastic Buttons
• 2 yards 2mm Ivory Rattail
• 3 yards 7/8″ Ivory Single Face Satin Ribbon

This shirt can easily be created without a pattern. All I did was trace one of my t-shirts and angled the sleeves from the bottom of the original shirt’s armhole. If you’re looking for a more form fitting silhouette, you could add bust darts, but I chose not to include them since this is definitely a shirt that I’ll just be tucking into some high-waisted pants or a midi skirt. Also, without the darts, the front and back of the shirt are identical, so you can cut 2 of the same shape!

After cutting your fabric, sew up the sides of your shirt until you reach the arm holes. This can be done using French seams, if you’d like! From your rattail, cut 22 pieces; each should measure about 2.5″ long.

Pin your ribbon along the entire top of your shirt panels, right sides facing each other. This will eventually be flipped over and sewn to the wrong side of your silk, like you see below. First though, you’ll need to sew your rattail loops onto one of your shirt panels. Starting about and inch from the edge of the sleeve, clip a loop between your ribbon and silk every inch. Each sleeve should have 11 loops.

After sewing down your ribbon facings, you can finish your sleeve edges and shirt hem the same way, or you can finish them off with a simple rolled hem. I chose the latter, which you can see in the image below!

Your rattail loops should fit right over your buttons, but if you’re a little worried about 1 or 2 coming undone while you’re wearing it, you could certainly hand sew them into place since they’re mostly decorative. And with just a few stitches, you have a beautiful blouse! What kind of buttons are you going to be making yours with?