Frayed cuffs on jackets, shirts and pants are a common occurrence in contemporary clothing. Because a lot of items of clothing are now manufactured in generic sizes, rather than tailored to fit the body, cuffs are worn longer than they should be, which causes them to wear out faster. Fortunately, a frayed cuff can be shortened with a few basic sewing materials to remove the worn fabric and prevent the cuff from fraying again.

Lie the jacket on a flat surface in front of you.

Unpick the frayed cuff with a quick unpick or seam ripper.

Measure 1/4 inch above the fraying, all the way around the sleeve with a measuring tape. Mark it with fabric chalk.

Cut around the sleeve to remove the fraying, using the markings as a guide. Measure the width of the fabric you removed and write it down on a piece of paper. You will use this later to take up the other sleeve so the two will match in length.

Measure 1/4 inch in from the raw edge of the sleeve material and mark all the way around with fabric chalk.

Fold the fabric inside the sleeve all the way around on the chalk mark and pin into place with sewing pins.

Unpick the cuff of the other sleeve with a quick unpick or seam ripper. Unfold the cuff and lie it flat on the surface in front of you.

Measure the distance you noted in Step 4 from the raw edge of the sleeve inward, and mark all the way around with your fabric chalk.

Cut around the sleeve to remove the excess fabric, using the markings as a guide.

Measure 1/4 inch in from the raw edge of the sleeve material, and mark all the way around with fabric chalk.

Fold the fabric inside the sleeve all the way around on the chalk mark and pin into place with sewing pins.

Sew around both sleeves with a sewing machine to create a new cuff. Sew slowly and remove the pins as you go.

Try the jacket on to see how it looks and fits.