Good for a chuckle?

[Lady Caroline]

Ok, so despite never having sewn anything according to a pattern before, I have started on my quest to make a nobility gown.  I decided to refer to Dawn's lovely instructions for making your typical, plain undergarment. 

The instructions were very easy to follow, with ample illustrations.  I was feeling pretty confident as I zipped along with my sewing machine.  In fact, I decided to spice things up a bit, and change the plain, ordinary sleeve cuffs, into something totally not H/A, but cute in my own mind.  I added some pleats!  I was (am) so proud of these cuffs.




You can imagine my excitement and anticipation as I slipped the half finished garment over my head...........

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WTH?  The sleeves practically hang down to my knees!  LOL  I was so disappointed, but immediately figured out where I went wrong.  When measuring my arms, I practically held the tape to my neck, instead of stopping at the beginning of the shoulder.  What was I thinking?  I am way too lazy to rip out the stitches and make them shorter.  So I have decided that I am just going to chop the arms off somewhere, cut a few inches off, and sew them back on.  I'll have a seam of course. but maybe I can hide it with a ribbon or something? 

Any suggestions where I should cut them?  Closer to the shoulder?  Down lower?

[anne of oaktower]

LOL!  Sounds like something I would do 

It seems to me that the simplest fix, and best way to avoid an unsightly seem (or necessary cover up of one), would be to cut right above the lovely cuffs you made.  Or, rather than removing the sleeve at the shoulder, just remove the cuff.  Then you can shorten the sleeve by a few inches and sew the cuffs back on.

Good luck!
Anne

[gypsylakat]

well I dont' know what kind of garb you have... but if you have anything that has slashes or detachable sleeves with it... you could always use the extra lenght to make the puffs.... and if you don't have such an item.... well now you have an excuse for MORE GARB!

[gem]

If you're doing almost any kind of sleeve treatment for the gown, you'll actually *need* that extra length to "poof" through the sleeves. 

I say, don't do anything yet; just move on to the rest of the gown.

[Lady Caroline]

Anne: Your suggestion makes absolute total sense!  The only thing stopping me, is the fact that the sleeves were still flat (not sewn around) when I did the cuffs.  So I could lay them flat and just zip across the edge.  Now, the sleeves are round.   But the more I think about it, I could probably undo enough of the sleeve stitching, to lay the end flat again, then easily fix that straight seam.  

I think that may work!  Thank you, if this works out, you are a miracle worker. This forum is wonderful!

Gypsy: Before I get ahead of myself with visions of an entire wardrobe, I should probably finish project number one LOL.  Although, I'm starting the corset tomorrow!  Joy

Gem: I think for my first dress, I will not have poofs.  (I didn't make the sleeves that wide, they're very fitting) But that is an awesome idea to consider for my next one! And now I know to make them wider.

[anne of oaktower]

Happy to help 

Whatever you do, just remember:  measure, measure, measure!  And then measure once more just for good measure!  You've come this far, you certainly don't want to end up with mismatched sleeve lengths.

If both sleeves are currently equal length, you might try measuring up from the cuffs before cutting.  So, if you want the sleeves to be four inches shorter (or whatever length you want removed), measure and mark several spots on each sleeve four inches up from the top of each cuff.  This should make the process easier than trying to measure down from the shoulder.  And don't forget to leave a bit of seam allowance.

Be sure to let us know how it works out.

[Cilean]

I bet it will be fine once you get your outer clothes on!  Sometimes I made them too short and they catch on my gown when I was done I could not move my arms very well.  So you are ingenious!!! Because you did that without a thought!!

BRAVA!!

Cilean

[Kate XXXXXX]

Gorilla arms!      Oh dear!  Sorry, but I did have to giggle.

Other than this small blunder (and we all make mistakes, believe me!), it looks like a very nicely made shirt, and I like that cuff.  Dead smart, that is.

Personally, I'd just take a couple of tucks in the sleeves and make the hitch look decorative.  Then if you want them longer for something later, you can just take the tucks out...

[Lady Caroline]

Kate, can you explain what exactly, a tuck is?  I'm still very new to the technical terms.  Thanks! I know how to do different types of pleating, is it simialr?

[gem]

She basically means, just fold up the excess and stitch in place.  More about tucks here.

[Lady Caroline]

Thank you ladies!

[Kate XXXXXX]

Sorry - been out all day, shifting boxes, books, metal library shelving, and reams and reams of paper!

Yup, just fold up about 1" all round and stitch in place.  If you do several rows together, adjusting the depths of the tucks, it look like a design feature rather than an error.