Sewing: How to Adjust a Sleeve

Adjust your own sleeves for perfect fitting jackets and shirts.

Tailored shirts are a rarity in today's world of off-the-rack fashion, which means clothes are less expensive, but often need slight adjustments to get the right fit. Sleeves are a common part of a shirt or blouse that needs adjustment, and with a bit of patience, even a novice home sewer can tailor sleeves to achieve a perfect fit.

Things You'll Need

• Seam ripper
• Straight pins
• Sewing machine

Instructions

Sleeve Width

1. Turn the shirt or blouse wrong side out. If you need to expand the width of the sleeve, then use the seam ripper to remove the sleeve seam.

2. Pin the sleeve seam in at the new desired width. If you're making the width smaller, you can simply pin inside the former seam.

3. Sew along the new seam, using the sewing machine. If you need to adjust the sleeve by more than about 3/4-inch, then it may be necessary to remove the sleeve from the armhole and reattach it once the adjustment is made.

Sleeve Length

1. Turn the shirt or blouse wrong side out. If the sleeve has a simple hemmed end, fold over the end to the new length and sew. Shirts with buttoned cuffs will need extra attention.

2. Take out the sleeve seam of the shirt at the shoulder, continuing to the armhole. Sew a line around the shoulder cap of the sleeve 1/4-inch away from the new seam line, and one that is 3/4-inch away from the new seam line.

3. Pull the bobbin thread of the 3/4-inch stitching to gather the shoulder cap, making it the same measurement as the armhole on the shirt or blouse. Pull the 1/4-inch stitching's bobbin thread to gather slightly.

4. Pin the sleeve back to the armhole along the new seam line and sew. This will adjust the sleeve length without having to remove the cuffs or rip off buttons at the sleeve.

References

• New Mexico State University; Sewing Sleeves; Susan Wright

Resources

• "Threads" Magazine; On Fitting Sleeves; Peggy Sears; May 2009