I have some basic skills in mending and tailoring clothes, which comes in handy pretty often. When you have proportionally short legs, it’s nice to be able to buy pants and hem them yourself. When you have a ripped seam or a button that’s fallen off, it’s nice to be able to fix it.
Recently I tried something new: changing the sleeve length on one of my blazers. Here’s the original, which I bought at H&M a few years ago:
This is a fine blazer, but the long sleeves have always bugged me. They’re just a tad too long, like most sleeves are on me, and I’ve always preferred 3/4-length sleeves in general.
So I decided to turn my basic gray blazer into a smoldering, sexy, forearm-friendly blazer. You can do it too.
First, try on the blazer and measure where you want the sleeve to end. I like mine about two inches below the elbow.
Cut the sleeve off very carefully (pro tip: fabric scissors are no joke. If you’re halfway serious about sewing, get yourself a pair). Be sure to leave some extra fabric for hemming; about an inch should do it. Keep the sleeve ends that you cut off–you’ll need them in a bit.
Turn the blazer inside out and iron down the hem–this will help keep the fabric aligned when you’re sewing.
Use your sewing machine to sew up the sleeves with a medium stitch.
Okay! You could be done at this point, but remember those sleeve ends you cut off? Do they have buttons on them? If so, cut them off and sew them onto the altered sleeves. You can sew on as many as you want–I thought three looked good.
TAH-FREAKIN-DAH! I wore this to two job interviews and got a job out of the deal, so, you know. Forearms.
UrsPostrophe 