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how to sew refashion sewing sewing for kids
May 30, 2014

update sleeves for summer | long to short + ruching

easy DIY tutorial for turning long sleeves into short ruched sleeves

To go along with the skirt with attached shorts refashion I posted earlier, today I have a super easy shirt refashion that lets you take a favorite long sleeve tee and get it ready for summer with cute, elbow length ruched sleeves instead.

I started with an adorable striped baby Gap tee that I found at the thrift store for a dollar or two. It’s great quality and I really love the grown-up look of the stripes. My daughter kept pulling it out of her dresser to wear, even when it started getting too warm for long sleeves. It’s easy enough to make long sleeves short by cutting them off and hemming, but making her gathered skirt gave me the idea to do ruched elbow length sleeves instead. Ruched sleeves have gathers on the top and bottom of the sleeve. It’s one of those small details that makes a plain t-shirt feel a little dressier, or (if you’re a little girl) a little like something a ballerina would wear:

how to shorten long sleeves and add ruching

The good news is that this refashion is super easy! Start by cutting a few inches off the bottom of the sleeves (so the sleeve reaches to just under the elbow):

Striped shirt with the long sleeve cut off; scissors and pin cushion

 

If your knit is lightweight, there’s a good chance the raw edge will roll up once it’s cut. Give it a gently stretch and see if it rolls. If it does, that’s great! – no need to hem. The shirt I used is made from rib knit, which doesn’t roll and can get kind of grungy looking if you leave the edges raw, so I sewed a quick hem on each sleeve.

Now, you want to load elastic thread into your bobbin. Elastic thread is really easy to work with and super cool! It’s what you use to shir, and if you’ve never tried it before check out this quick shirring tutorial to learn how to use it.

All you need to do to ruche your sleeves is to sew a “V” top of each sleeve with elastic thread (see photo below). Start at the sleeve hem, backstitch, and sew directly up toward the shoulder (keeping the bottom of the sleeve out of the way as you sew). When you get a few inches from the shoulder seam put the needle down, pivot the shirt, and sew back down to the hem. Backstitch again and clip your threads. I like to tie the elastic threads to each other in the back to make sure they don’t come undone.

NOTE: If you don’t have elastic thread on hand, you can ruche the sleeves with elastic instead. Check out this ruching fabric tutorial for instructions.

Sleeve hemmed, with lines of elastic thread marked

If you look closely you can see the stitches in the photo below. Hit the stitching with some steam from your iron and the elastic thread will bunch up, gathering (or ruching) the sleeve (2nd photo below).

Elastic thread sewn from shoulder to hem on sleeve

Repeat the process on the underside of the sleeve as well, sewing on either side of the seam.

A little girl wearing a striped shirt with ruched sleeves

It’s a simple way to give a tee a little more personality while getting it ready for summer!

easy DIY tutorial for turning long sleeves into short ruched sleeves

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Home » sewing » how to sew » update sleeves for summer | long to short + ruching


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Comments

  1. Stacey says

    September 16, 2015 at 9:13 pm

    I’m a little confused about the ruching of the sleeves. Did you sew the v going up the arm on the inside of the sleeve as well as the outside? The pic doesn’t look like it but that’s what this sounds like to me – Repeat the process on the underside of the sleeve as well, sewing on either side of the seam.

    Please let me know.

    Thanks so much.
    Stacey

    P.S. Love your site and have actually learned quite a few things as a newbie. I have a Brother SE400 and the elastic thread works fine for me.

    Reply
  2. Bonnie says

    June 11, 2014 at 7:36 am

    Your daughter is so stinking cute! And the tute is good, too 😉 One question: can you use 1/8 inch elastic? I have a Brother machine and using elastic thread has been a NIGHTMARE. Thank you!!

    Reply
    • autumn says

      June 14, 2014 at 10:21 am

      Sure you could. Just stretch it quite a bit as you sew it in so you get a nice gather. Too bad that elastic thread has been a problem with your machine. I have a (very cheap) Brother machine and I handles the elastic thread just fine, but I’ve heard plenty of people say it’s difficult to work with.

      Reply
  3. [email protected] says

    June 1, 2014 at 8:37 am

    This is simply amazing.

    Reply

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I'm Autumn, a mom of five who loves ice cream, Masterpiece Theatre, and clothes that hide the fact that I eat so much ice cream. When I was 18 I got a job at a craft store and told everyone (regularly) how much I hated crafts. Well, things change! Read More…

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