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Wednesday, February 2, 2011

On The Mend: Adding Length to Long Sleeves


I believe that I've mentioned before that my arms are quite long.  As an adolescent I always had a difficult time finding long sleeve shirts that would reach my wrists.

I have a favorite knit shirt, it is actually the shirt that the Lazy Saturday shirt is based on. I love it.  The problem that I had with the shirt, was that there was a thin layer of sheer fabric, that was  cut on the bias, at the end of the sleeve.  Even though the fabric was bias cut, it didn't provide the needed stretch for my hand to pass through the opening.  After not so many wears, the fabric began to fray, and it was in need of repair.

To resolve the problem, I cut off the sheer fabric, as close to the seam as I could.  I then found some wide stretch lace (I found it here), cut it to the length of the sleeve opening, and serged the seam shut.

I then hand sewed the lace onto the sleeve opening.  It provides the needed length to the sleeve, and solves my problem of too short of sleeves.

Did anyone else wear lace trimmed leggings as a little girl?  I has some that looked just about like this.

I'm sure that this same process could be used on any long sleeved knit shirt.  I recommend the stretch lace, it is quite pretty, and you'll be seeing it again in some upcoming projects.

Thanks for reading, happy mending.


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7 comments:

  1. UnknownFebruary 2, 2011 at 10:43 AM

    So smart! My arms aren't super long but I love my sleeves on the long side anyway. :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. AnonymousFebruary 2, 2011 at 5:51 PM

    That is really smart. My sister has always had the same problem, I am sending this link to her. Thanks for sharing :)

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  3. AnneFebruary 11, 2011 at 7:31 AM

    this is such a great idea!! I linked to your post on Craft Gossip Sewing:
    http://sewing.craftgossip.com/cool-idea-use-stretch-lace-to-lengthen-t-shirt-sleeves/2011/02/11/

    --Anne

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  4. AnonymousFebruary 11, 2011 at 1:03 PM

    Do you think this could work with a sweater? Maybe if instead of stretch lace I could find some crochet trim? I just need about an inch, the sweater has shrunk a bit. Thanks!

    Sheri

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  5. AnonymousFebruary 15, 2011 at 11:16 PM

    Tricia

    I also have long arms. My solutions for tops has been to add a cuff of ribbing to my sweater sleeves, but this is a great idea for lighter weight tops.

    Sandy

    ReplyDelete
  6. Cisco Sewing SuppliesApril 1, 2011 at 12:03 PM

    What a great idea. My arms are super short but I may do this with some sleeves anyway because they look so cool!

    ReplyDelete
  7. dmnarayanaNovember 16, 2015 at 10:05 PM

    That is really smart. My lover has always had the same problem, I am sending this link to her. Thanks for sharing :) regards Debenhams Discount Code

    ReplyDelete