Shorten shirt sleeves with cuff

Shorten shirt sleeves with cuff a small amount, by unpicking the cuff, shortening at the body of the sleeve and reattaching the cuff.

For this exercise we will assume the sleeve needs to be shortened 4 cm (1 ½ in) which is an amount that allows for cutting part of the placket off.

Unpick the right cuff and safety pin to the right sleeve.  Unpick the left cuff and safety pin to the left sleeve.  Always unpick from the back rather than the front of the cuff.  If you make a mistake and nick the cuff, it can always be repaired at the back of the cuff.

There is a small button and button hole half way up the placket.  Try to hide the buttonhole when shortening or at least have some room below the buttonhole.  It does not look good having half a buttonhole showing.  Or cut through the buttonhole as per the illustration, so that the buttonhole will be hidden inside the cuff when reattached.  To ensure the amount taken off is accurate, measure all the way around the bottom of the sleeve.  The tape measure should have the amount the sleeve is going up placed over the top of the original stitching, and your chalk mark is at the tip of the tape measure.  Allow for hem allowance which is usually 1 cm (3/8 in), by marking down from the top mark.  Cut on the bottom mark.

Pin the cuff  back on beginning at the side closest to the inside arm seam.  The distance between the placket and the inside arm seam is narrower than the distance on the other side from the placket to the inside arm.  The pleats are in the latter side.

Place the pins so each pin can be pulled out as sewn.  Pinning can be a little tricky but to shorten shirt sleeve with cuff, it just takes a little practice.

Place one pin on the end and another at the inside arm seam.  Now move around to the opposite side which has more distance from the placket to the side seam (where the pleats were) and  pin the cuff to the edge.  Make sure both sides are lined up.

At this stage only the two ends (one up to the side seam) by the placket are pinned, and nothing is pinned in the middle.  The reason this is a good way of pinning the cuffs is that the pleats are always on the side furthest from the inside arm seam.  By pinning the opposite side, then moving around to the pleat side, means you can now work out how much to pleat.

Usually there are two pleats, but  a shirt can have three or even four.  Your pleats should have no more than 3 cm (1 ¼ in) in each pleat.  To hold the pleat in place, use a pin and pin down the pleat with the pin head away from the cuff.  Stitch into the original stitch line on the cuff.

Pin the opposite sleeve, and top stitch into the original stitch mark.

Shirt sleeve has been shortened.

Happy sewing

Judith aka genie