Who knew doing a thrifted sweatshirt upcycle with my granddaughter would be so fulfilling! One of my favorite things in the world is spending one-on-one creative time with my grandkids. Recently, my granddaughter Ella came over with a plan — not just to sew, but to take a thrifted sweatshirt and upcycle it and make them completely her own.
And honestly? It turned into one of those nights I’ll always remember.
Thrifting With a Purpose (And a Tiny Budget)
We started our adventure at the thrift store, where Ella picked out a couple of sweatshirts she wanted to transform. One of the reasons I love projects like this is how low-pressure they are — the sweatshirts were only $3–$6, so if something didn’t work, it wasn’t a big deal.
I think sometimes kids today are afraid to make mistakes. This kind of project gives them permission to experiment, try new ideas, and trust their creativity — without fear.
And that’s exactly what Ella did.
Thrifted Sweatshirt Upcycle Idea #1: Changing the Sleeves
For the first sweatshirt, Ella’s idea was to swap out the sleeves. We searched around the thrift store for shirts with interesting fabrics and even looked on Pinterest for inspiration. A lot of the examples used vintage florals, but we didn’t find anything quite like that.
What we did find was a men’s navy plaid shirt — and Ella loved it. So we decided to go for it.
Back at home, we laid the plaid shirt sleeves on top of the sweatshirt sleeves to check sizing. Amazingly, they were a perfect match.
How We Did It:
- Cut the sleeves off the plaid shirt along the inside seam (leaving room to sew)
- Cut the sleeves off the sweatshirt
- Pinned the plaid sleeves to the sweatshirt, right sides together
- Threaded up my Brother sewing machine (my second one — I love how easy they are to use)
- Ella did the sewing!
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She missed a tiny section on the first sleeve, but it was an easy fix — we unstitched a small area and resewed it. The second sleeve went in perfectly.
Within minutes, Ella had created a brand new upcycled sweatshirt — one she was genuinely proud of.
And that pride? That’s everything.
Our sweet Ella has grown into a beautiful inside and out young women and will soon be turning 17! How is this even possible? You can see the first post I wrote about her here.
Thrifted Sweatshirt Upcycle Idea #2: The Funky Cut-Out Sweatshirt
Next came the project we were both a little unsure about.
Ella had seen a popular idea where you draw shapes on a sweatshirt, sew fabric underneath, then cut the shapes out so the fabric peeks through. She chose a blue and white striped table runner from the thrift store for the under-fabric.
I’ll be honest — the runner felt kind of thick, and I wasn’t sure it would work. But instead of shutting the idea down, I said:
“Let’s just try it.”
And I’m so glad we did.
How We Did It:
- Used chalk to draw funky shapes on the front, back, and sides of the sweatshirt
- Cut pieces of the table runner large enough to cover each shape
- Pinned the fabric underneath so it wouldn’t move
- Sewed around each chalk shape
- Cut out the sweatshirt fabric so the striped fabric showed through
- Trimmed the excess underneath to reduce bulk
To our surprise, the fabric wasn’t too thick at all — it was easy to work with and looked so cool once the shapes were cut out.
We planned to do one on the sleeve too, but realized it wouldn’t open flat under the sewing machine. It was getting late on a school night, so we decided to stop there (next time 😉).
Why This Night Meant So Much
Yes, we made two really fun sweatshirts.
But what mattered more was watching Ella:
- trust her ideas
- problem-solve when something didn’t go perfectly
- learn that mistakes are part of creating
- feel confident saying “I made this myself”
Seeing my granddaughter catch the sewing bug and use her creativity is absolutely priceless.
These are the moments that stay with you. You an see some cornice window treatments that I helped my daughter make for Ella when she was about 5 years old here!
A Little Question for You 💛
Have you ever sewn or created something with a child or grandchild?
What kinds of creative projects are you doing together these days?
I would love to hear — leave me a comment below and tell me.
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