My grandson purchased a suit at a garage sale. The jacket needed to be taken in around the waist,the sleeves were to long,and the waist on the pants was 2 inches to big!!! I am a very average sewer and have not ever altered anything. I told him I would try and his response was, "Grandma I know you can do it." Your video made it possible. I can't thank you enough. You are very blessed to be able to teach even a novice like me. It turned out beautiful and I can't wait to show it to him.
same. I wacthed about 10 videos on this topic and finally understood how to do when I watched your video. Your lighting is great as well as your camera work and your doing things twice in case we missed it in the first perspective. Thanks.
As I do about 10 sets of sleeves every week I have a couple of tips. When you’re stitching the lining back in, if you place the garment down and the lining up, you can start at your last pin you put in at the placket. And I always replace my buttons before I reattach the lining.
I love your tutorials. The information is great--- I appreciate that you occasionally back up to make sure we know which area you're working on (including turning it back right side out, etc.) This feels so much like having a sewing bestie who shows you how to do complex things, and makes them really accessible. Thanks for the calm, no-nonsense approach-- while still not taking yourself too seriously! The humor is so helpful, and it's great to see that even for an expert things don't always work perfectly (like removing chainstitched button holes, arrrrgh!).
BTW... after seeing this, I will never again try to shorten a sleeve by working through the slit in the lining at the elbow. I had NO IDEA I was making it so much harder for myself LOL!!!!
absolutely on of the best tutorials I viewed. Slow, reasonable pace, repeat of complex steps for understanding, no distracting background music, pleasant voice, use of humor....I can't wait to complete shortening of two jackets for my husband...not as scared about damaging very expensive suits. Thank you!
THANK YOU - I watched a dozen videos like this, and no one gave that much detail. I was all jammed up in sewing a sleeve inside out through the hole, and you GUIDED me.
I can’t thank you enough. I got beautiful results. I’ve sewn professionally my whole life and never completely understood this process. I feel like a rock star!!!!
Thank you so much for the clear and detailed instructions, have now succeeded in shortening my jacket sleeves and an very pleased with the result. I did have a moment of placket panic 😂
Thanks Shae for a great tutorial which made it so easy for me to follow. I had a suit jacket that my brother wanted the sleeves shorten and after looking at a few other tutorials I landed on yours. I was terrified to cut into his jacket for fear of ruining it as I have never altered lined sleeves before. Almost 12 months later after taking his jacket home (he was in no rush to get it back) I finally faced my fear and pulled out the jacket and had your video up. It was so easy with your instructions as I could see everything you did and you repeated steps as well. I did this on the Friday 7th June 2024 and handed the jacket over on the next day Saturday 8th June. Perfect length! Very happy with the results and no longer scared to tackle this type of alteration😊❤
By far the best video on RU-vid for shortening sleeves on a suit jacket. I've watched them all and was confused with the lining top stitch removal and reversal and innie-outie maneuvering... until I watched yours! Great stuff, thank you so much.
Thank you for sharing with me how to shorten a jacket sleeve you are such a good teacher I follow just the way you said and for the first time I got it right I am so proud of myself thank a million
THANK YOU! My fiancé bought a new suit for a wedding we’re going to this week. But they’re a short king and bought an R size. I hemmed the pants but told them to get the sleeves done at a tailor. Well, with all the other preparations, they forgot. And we leave tomorrow night after work. So I desperately googled a tutorial to see if I could even attempt it, and I found you and you told me I could do it. So I did. Your tutorial was incredible. I laughed, I cried, I swore a lot. Is it perfect? Absolutely not. But the sleeves are the right length, I am now fiancée of the year, and I feel so accomplished!! If you’d told 11-year-old me at my last sewing lesson that in 20 years I’d successfully hem up a suit, I would’ve been skeptical. But look at me now!
This is a fantastic lesson. I have a jacket to adjust and was really sweating how to do a good job but this tutorial is so clear I'm starting right now. Thank you
Wow! the best teacher ever, you made it so to understand, definitely i must get it right, I've watched them all you're the best, keep up the good work, God bless
Love the mitre to get the corners bang on instead of just folding them back❤. Really enjoy your enthusiasm for sewing as its given me a renewed love for sewing. X
I found your video just in time - I have a set of sleeves to shorten and I've never done this before. Great video - very detailed and lots of tips! Really enjoyed watching! Thank you.
Excellent, excellent tutorial! Today is Thursday. I have a mitered corner suit jacket shortened request due next Tuesday. I have been looking at tons of videos on this alteration. Yours is the one I am using to guide me on my first go. I already feel soo confident and look forward to producing a professional alteration. Thank you soo much for this video!!
Thank you again for another invaluable video. These long step-by-step videos are fantastic for really learning an alteration properly. I especially love the tailoring ones where there are a lot of individual steps, I hope you do more of these (my own top request: sleeve pitch alteration, there isn’t anything out there on this). And I love the way you explain why you’re doing things the way you are, that’s really helpful. Thank you, looking forward to the next one!
This was an awesome video and answered a lot of questions I had about modifying sleeves that I'd never learned when I was taught to sew 😅. Great presentation. Thanks so much!
That sleeve is a work of art! You inspire me to get my “new” jacket (which I bought two years ago but haven’t worn because the sleeves are too long) out of the back of the closet and shortening the sleeves. Both of them. Thank you!
Hi. What an awesome video, and I agree with others that state they love how detailed your instructions are. I have been sewing for over 25 years and do alterations on the side. My customers have always been women, and I sew and alter from jeans to wedding gowns. I was extremely hesitant when I was approached by one of the young men in my church to shorten some sleeves on his lined suit jackets. I tried one and it turned out the right length but such a puckered look due to the lining. I have sat here today and watched and then re-watched your video, and was able to take apart the "mess" I made and correct it, even with the mitered look. All I can say is WOW!!! Now if I could just learn how to attach a picture of my work for you, I would share the finish look. 😃 Thank you again for your videos.
Oh how I love you for this! I Taylor jackets and clothes but you have helped me so much and made this job so much easier for me thank you so much for this I will watch you and re-watch you
Excellent video well explained and the camera work was excellent, very well done! I feel like I can do it now! I watched other videos but none explained it as well as this one! Thank you!
I recently shortened the sleeves on four tuxedo jackets following your previous RU-vid video. Your instructions were excellent and the sleeves came out great. Watching now to see how you’ve added more detail. Thank you for your great instructions! I appreciate how thoroughly you explained the miter, and following the previous foldline to stitch the vertical placket seams.
TY! I was guessing and your video really helped me to resolve just the last part where i need to pull through for a seamless look. I've had no formal training and thank you so very very much!
Omg! I'm With you so far, I think. My son wants me to turn up his jacket sleeves. Now I'm terrified 😨 lol. Only just started out again sewing after about 26 years of nothing! Brand New machine 😮 . Oh my, I hope I don't ruin the jacket. But as you said, "you can do it" you are a very good teacher 👏 many thanks for the video 😊
Thank you for making this video. I used it as a co-working call and I sewed along with you 😊 But my jacket had working button holes. I had to improvise. Would love to see this video with the button hole issue.
Shae, this video was amazing! I had to perform this job just this past week and I went to your channel and one other for a tutorial. I appreciate your very detailed tutorial. I also just love your excitement about the alterations in general. I love doing alterations! If I lived in Tulsa, I would definitely visit your beautiful shop and even try to work there. Thank you. The coat sleeves that I had to shorten came out great. Even though I understand why you sewed the sleeve buttons on last after the lining was sewed together, I think the next jacket I work on, I will sew the buttons back on before I close up the lining. I can tell that step is just a preference thing. Anyway, love your channel and what you are bringing to this space!
A lot depends on the available room you have within the new hem space. If you sew them on first you might find it difficult to sew the lining on. You may be able to sew the top two buttons but not the lower two.
Learned from your video tutorial how to do it! My customer loves the result! Could you please make a video on how to close down the functional button holes🙏🏻. Thank you!
❤ If I am paying for a professional sleeve alterations and buttons to be reattached, should the threads that hold the buttons go through the lining and knotted visibly on the inside ?
Can this be followed for real buttons (not a faux placket) or is there any video describing what is different? I'm super new to sewing and working out if I can do this. I'm taking a bit of length up, so I don't think I really need to move the buttons if that helps
So fun to watch competent skill. Beautiful work. Is this your business? Thank you again sooooo much. You are fun to watch. I hope you are appreciated to the max🙏🏻❤️. Patty Harp
Wonderful tutorial! Questions- Is your iron special coated? I always use a press cloth so my fabric doesn't get shiny. Is there a way to put the faux button holes back on the sleeve placket like the original sleeve? Thank you!!!
Great video - thank you! Do you ever replace the faux buttonholes, or extend the placket so the the opening is a similar length to the original? I am trying to decide whether to shorten my jacket at the end of the sleeves or at the top of the sleeves, the latter of which would maintain the original placket etc.
Great question; you’ll find once you open the sleeve jacket that the area around the top of the placket has been cut into the fabric like vent so often extending it actually is impossible because the fabric just isn’t there. Take a look and you’ll see what I mean! Unfortunately, that means past a certain point you’re just going to lose the placket. Every once in a while, I will go to the underarm seam and heavily taper, which will allow me to shift all of that seam allowance to the outseam of the sleeve and then re-create the placket, but it’s a long and tedious process.
These videos are my absolute favorites!! Being able to see others work the process is so valuable. Also, so many things to glean. Thanks friend PS What brand of arm board is that?
Great news, we just posted a video on interfacing and the link for the fusible is in the caption: Best 6 Interfacings and How To Use Them ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-l7MmLOk2R5A.html
Ma’am thank you SO much. I’m a beginner and have been watching videos on this subject, none compare to this tutorial. Super in depth I appreciate it thank you
Folks, we've clicked onto a bonafide NBT = natural born teacher. Lol...As someone who's taught several young people to sew, I knew fairly quickly into this tutorial that I was in the presence of a instructional MASTER! (Many, many thanks, m'dear!)
Yes and no; I find that I can often lengthen them about an inch if I need to, but the only thing that will get in your way is the mitered edge. If the fabric inside of the diagonal mitered edge is trimmed, that will restrict how far down you can let the placket before it starts to curve in a weird way.
Question if anyone can answer. So the sleeve allowance and the lining. The sleeves allowance is folded over however the lining isn’t, we just cut the exact measurements that was cut from sleeve. Why do we not fold over lining or cut excess from lining bc every time I sew them together the lining is showing underneath sleeve when worn.
This is a great question that has a couple of answers; first, we are assuming that the proportions of the sleeve were cut correctly when they were manufactured, meaning that we want to remove the exact same amount from the outer and the inner, which leaves the correct amount of self facing on the inside of the lining when completed. Second, I find that the manufacturers often leave too much lining or more than I actually prefer so if you’d feel more comfortable cutting an extra half an inch off of the lining you can arbitrarily do that, and actually, I often do. Last you can tack the sleeve in more places than I have shown ( such as along the bicep) and use fusible sewn to the self facing internally to keep the sleeve lining from falling out the bottom and help the self facing stay in place along the cuff. This is just my opinion, but I believe that they leave too much lining because the lining often has much less stretch than the outer chosen fabric so they’re wanting to give you more range of movement by leaving more length and volume inside the sleeve.
@@sewshowwithshaethank you so much!! Exactly what I was looking for ❤ your video made it sew easy for me!! I’ve avoided blazers for years but now my confidence is building thanks to you!
Instead of opening the sleeve lining and pulling out the sleeve and machine sewing it, just sew the lining by hand with a slip stitch. It's actually faster, easier, just as professional, and you won't need a glass of wine and ibuprofen afterward, well, not that there's anything wrong with that.😁🍷
Yea, I see that you are really a professional taylor, recently I have 2 suits one after another from men’s warehouse and they did not do it right and unprofessional alterations. What happened Taylor cut the fabric on the sleeve split where the stitches ended. So they have to replaced the new jacket then I have to do it by myself instead. I just picked another suite and have them to short the sleeves again, you know what happened again, the sleeves were not straight the way should be. So I have to fixed it again. I really don’t know why the men’s warehouse hired unprofessional Taylor’s to do the sloppy jobs. The men’s warehouse needs to know much better about their Taylor’s before they hired them. I really disappointed of their taylors from two locations, but I will not named those two locations at this moment.
Tailoring should be unnoticeable - as if untouched. Your sleeve method completely destroys the floating lining. The lining did not have the buttons sewn through when it left the factory. Quality Tailoring is like surgery and some doctors, leave horrible scars. An extremely skilled tailor's work appears barely there, unnoticeable - UNTOUCHED. My husband is a vendor for Gucci, one coat $3,500-$5,500+. At that level, the customers notice every stitch, every line and you've just instructed to completely sew through the lining. OUCH! Houston, we have a problem! Please, sew the buttons BEFORE taking back the lining...... to leave a clean floating lining underneath. You don't know, what you don't know. Scars are nothing, at almost 30K views, that's pure cancer.😭
So after watching over an hour long video (thanks for the view!) it sounds like the only thing you think I screwed up was sewing the buttons back on at the end? I’d be happy to change my ways if you let Gucci know I’m also available 😉
@@sewshowwithshae I'm sorry, if I sounded harsh. Alternative techniques is one of the reasons we find it challenging to bring on new people. We have no idea what THEIR method will be. My husband is Saville Row trained and believes there are many way to do things but only one RIGHT way. In London, they are pretty paticular without much room for innovativeness. I always say, would'nt it be easier...and his reponse is...sure but, not if it leaves it unoriginal. Again, I apoligize for the harshness. I did not give you credit for all else, which you did well!
Can anyone help me? I’m 5’3 so I have to cut way above the placket.. so I’m left with a cuff without a placket. Is there a way to add another placket or do I just sew buttons onto the placketless cuff?? Any info is helpful-thank you
This is an interesting conundrum that we definitely run into. You can just finish the sleeve and add the buttons back on since even if you had room for a placket the buttons are non-functioning often anyway. The other thing you can do is much more complicated, you can taper the sleeve starting high up on the bicep and then use the excess fabric (which looks like a chuck of seam allowance now) to create a new faux placket. It will be a narrower than the original but it will still give you that traditional look.
