Quick Beginner-friendly Hack to Shorten Your Sleeves
If you’re new to sewing, it can be daunting to know how to shorten sleeves with a ribbed cuff, like on a sweatshirt.
Here’s a quick and easy hack that doesn’t involve removing the cuff and re-attaching it.
It’s a one-step process that anyone can do.
Tools and materials:
- Cuffed sleeve
- Pins
- Sewing machine
1. Turn back the cuff
Decide by how much you need to shorten your sleeve.
Have your garment right side out.
Turn back the cuff so the wrong side of the sleeve is exposed.
Fold the cuff up the sleeve until you can see half the amount you want to remove below the cuff seam.
In this example, you can see about half an inch (1.2 cm) of fabric, so I’ll be shortening the sleeve by 1 inch (2.5 cm) in total.
Pin the cuff in place if you need to.
2. Set up your sewing machine
Depending on your machine, remove the front flatbed or accessories compartment to expose the free arm.
Slide the end of the sleeve over the free arm.
3. Sew
Place the inside edge of the cuff under your needle.
You want to sew as close to the edge as you can get, so your stitching is hidden within the cuff seam.
Sew around the entire circumference of the cuff.
How to shorten sleeves
From the right side, your stitching is completely invisible.
Now your sleeve is the perfect length and it took you about 10 minutes!
I hope you found this helpful. Please let me know in the comments below.
Next, learn How to Sew a Patch Pocket.
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