alteration help

I would shorten it from the sleeve cap, not the bottom of the sleeve.

I think if you decide to alter from the sleeve cap you're going to have to remove the entire sleeve and recut the arm or it won't hang right and may even alter the fit in the shoulder and that will be a not so good domino effect across the shoulders, neck, etc.. The jacket sounds like it's probably lined as well. I'd remove the buttons, turn the jacket inside out, unstitch the lining around the bottom of the sleeves, then carefully undo the seams on both lining and jacket arms about 1/2 to 2/3 of the way up the under arm. Open them up flat and see how they have cut the lower sleeve to make that vent/pleat. Probably even trace the lower half of the sleeves onto paper. Then move the pattern up the flat sleeve the amount you want to shorten them and recut. Make notes on the construction if you think it's too tricky to reconstruct from memory. The lining could possibly be cut different than sleeve so do what ever was done to that the same way you copy the jacket. With some designs the sleeve and lining are cut differently. Then resew the lining, resew the sleeve, make sure you allow for turning the fabric under on both hem and sleeve and then you can reattach them at the cuff. Sew the buttons back on. This way you'll still have the same finished sleeve but shorter and not alter the fit of the jacket.

Hope that makes sense. Maybe Kate and a few other of our resident more experienced people with alterations will step in here and make suggestions as well.

Val

I think Val is right, that in this case the alteration needs to be done at the bottom of the sleeves. If Cathy needed to shorten them by only an inch or two, the sleeve cap might be recut to fit the armhole satisfactorily. But taking as much as 4 inches off the sleeve cap almost certainly would result in a noticeable difference in the amount of ease.

I have to be in just the right kind of mood to tackle this kind of alteration project (and seldom am). Bad sentence structure, but you probably know what I mean!

Doreen in Alabama

Dear Cathy,

If you have to alter the sleeve that much, there won't be any fabric there to make the vent. Just remove the buttons, sew a seam where the vent was, and sew the buttons back on. A vent is a 1-1/4-inch extension by 7 inches long, and is always made in a two-piece sleeve. This includes a 1-1/2 to 2-inch hem. so all you'd have left to work with is maybe three inches--too dinky to look right.

Teri

I think you just about covered it there, Val. I don't do alterations much, but this is the neatest way I've seen to do this without altering the cuff, where you can have trouble keeping the vent when you chop the bottom off the sleeve.

Wow. I knew this was going to be a Project, but....wow.

OK, I 've printed out your instructions and I think I can visualize what you mean. I really don't want to whack off 4 inches and make a hem on the sleeve, the sleeve itself won't look right, it won't have the proper taper. Your idea to trace the lower half of the sleeve is brilliant.

Thanks for all the advice and help! Cathy

suggestions=20

That's what I did when I shortened the sleeve on a blouse a few years ago. It was actually easy to do (but then again it wasn't a lined jacket!).

-Irene

-------------- You only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough.=20

--Mae West=20

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You should be aware that shortening a two-piece sleeve by 4" will probably result in a good sleeve *length* but an improper fit, as the curve of the elbow will now be at mid-forearm. Personally, I would take half out at the sleeve cap, and half out at the hem.

However, you will probably not have sufficient seam allowance to maintain the "vent" pleat. In that case, I would just sew the seam closed, and re-sew the buttons for a "faux" vent look.

Beverly

In the same situation, I do believe I would be looking into having my arms stretched.

Splorf!

Beverly,

Good catch! The elbow curve issue didn't occur to me at all.

So my o/c side tells me, one could take out the sleeves; completely take them apart; make a paper pattern of the pieces as they are, then fold out a couple of inches both above and below the elbow in each pattern piece; recut, reconstruct and reinsert the sleeves in the armholes. Lining too, of course.

What fun. :)

Doreen in Alabama

Indeed! My DH had short arms, so ready-to-wear garments never fit him. For shirts I often shortened at the sleeve cap, because I did not want to fiddle with the cuff and placket. For jackets with two-part sleeves, I learned that just shortening at the hem wasn't a good fix, because the sleeve would not hang as intended, the curve of the sleeve didn't fit anymore. So I actually did shorten a few at both top and bottom. I learned it was easier to just make his suits and jackets from scratch.

Which I did.... ;-) If I can find a picture of him in the three-piece suit I made, I'll get it uploaded.

Beverly P.S. to Doreen, I am finally able to see *well* with both eyes, so I hope to get your AG patterns copied and return the originals to you SOON. :-)

Beverly,

It's wonderful to hear that your surgery went was successful! I anticipate needing the same fix before too long.

And thanks to this ng, I am finding that aspirin is indeed effective in relieving the thumb pain that has been plaguing me. I am so happy! Can't wait to bring my internist up to speed tomorrow. "The internet, you say?" :P

Doreen in Alabama

Thanks, and good luck! I see the surgeon for the one-week post-op visit tomorrow, after that I can discontinue the antibiotic drops. I'll have to taper off the steroid drops for another two weeks. My vision in the second eye was 20/40 the day after surgery, not quite as good as the first, but it seems to have improved over the past week a bit. I have to wait four weeks to be evaluated for glasses, I'll be using store-bought reading glasses in the interim.

I'm glad it works for you. I used aspirin for several years, later went to ibuprofen, and later still to Celebrex. My arthritis pain (knees, hands neck, shoulders, hips) is pretty well controlled now, but I have to be *very* careful of my stomach. If it's not one thing, it's another.... But I'm still above ground, so that's good! ;-)

Beverly