How To: Shorten Sleeves with a Lining

I do a lot of different sewing projects for people, and learn a lot of new things along the way. Today I thought I'd show you how to shorten sleeves of a women's blazer (or any sleeve that is lined). It is easy, even if you don't call yourself a seamstress, you can do it too!

Here is the sleeve before I did anything to it:

See how the lining is folded over the seam? There is a little “give” in the lining to things don’t get bunched up in there while the garment is being worn. That is important, so I will be duplicating it in my new cuff!

Use a seam ripper to carefully rip out the stitches that hold the lining and the sleeve together. This will expose the raw edges of both layers.

Fold the sleeve over to the desired length. I made these 1” shorter, so I used the line left from the previous fold to measure.

Press sleeve to make this a permanent fold.

**Note: I read recently that water with a little white vinegar will take that other fold line away when doing a project like this. Just spray so the fabric is slightly damp and then iron that crease away! I haven’t tried it yet, but I will the next time I have the opportunity!

Now, you know how long the sleeve will be. Lets make the lining match!

Measure 1” off your lining. I used the previous stitching marks as a guide.

Pin the lining in place and press. Careful that your iron is not too hot!! I just shoved the sleeve up inside so it would be out of the way for this step.

Now it is time to pin the lining and the sleeve back together. Remember, you want the lining to have some slack, so pin the lining about 1” to 1½” down the sleeve. Refer to your “before” pictures to see how theirs was. :)

I just hand-sewed mine, since it was just a little sleeve hole, but you could always use a blind stitch to sew them together. Just so the stitches don’t show on the outside!

Once the entire seam is sewn, it is time to press the lining so it makes a little “flap” and covers up the stitching. Remember the “before?”

We want ours to look the same! Pull the lining down so it hangs over the stitches about a quarter of an inch. Then carefully iron it in place!

 Ta-da!

And from the other side….

You can’t even tell the difference! It is really not a hard project, just one that takes some patience to achieve the right look and to make it lay correctly.

So there is a little sewing project that any of you can take on! Let me know if you try it and how it turns out!

Anyone else doing any sewing or crafting these days?