Here’s a short tutorial on how you can add a cuff to a sleeve. Also, how you can add a cuff to the waist of a t-shirt.
I am using my raglan tee as the example but this ‘quick and dirty’ method will work on anything.
First, have your pattern piece ready: I have my raglan long sleeve here::
Decide how tall you want the cuff to be:
- I chose 1.5″ for the wrist. Anything from .25″ – 3″ or more will work. It’s all personal preference. 1.5″ is a good middle ground.
Cut that amount off the bottom of the sleeve::
TECHNICALLY: you should leave .25″ at the bottom for seam allowance since you will be sewing the cuff on later but that would make the quick and dirty method take longer so I don’t add it. I’ve never missed it 🙂 Feel free to add if you like!
Now, fold a piece of paper in half, lay the piece of sleeve you cut off on the folded edge of the paper. The longer side should be on the folded edge of the paper.
Trace around the piece of the sleeve that you cut off. Add .25″ at the top for a seam allowance. The reason I don’t add seam allowance on the sides is because it’s already included in the original pattern piece.
Measure a small amount in from the width of the cuff so it’s a little smaller than the wrist. The amount you cut off can vary depending on how tight you want the cuff.
- I chose 1.5″ shorter than the wrist width. This will make the cuff a little tighter than the sleeve but not anything drastic
Cut the cuff out of the paper.
Label the cuff so you don’t forget what it’s for and what way the grain line goes.
Now you can cut out 2 wrist cuffs for the t-shirt!
To make a waist cuff for the t-shirt it will vary just a little bit:
First, decide how tall you want the waist cuff to be.
- I chose 2″ for this, a little taller than my wrist cuff.
Cut that off the bottoms of the t-shirt front and back.
Tape those two pieces together:
Cut off an amount from the width so it is skinnier than the shirt waist. You want to stretch the band a little when you sew it on. Also, because this cuff is much larger than the wrist cuff you can cut off a larger amount. It has more room to stretch.
I cut off 1.5″ BECAUSE: This waist cuff will be cut on the fold so the total amount will be 3″.
Now, you will follow the same steps as the wrist cuff.
- Place the long edge on a folded piece of paper,
- Trace around it,
- Add .25″ at the top for seam allowance and
- Cut out.
The waistband will be cut on the fold, remember we only used half the shirt width in the beginning because the shirt is also cut on the fold.
Here’s my waistband cut out on the fold:
Now, you can sew the t-shirt together and you no longer have to hem anything!
