How to Make a Long-Sleeve Shirt Out of Fabric
- 1). Set a soft, short-sleeve T-shirt onto a flat surface. Measure 1 inch in from the edge of the T-shirt sleeve hems and cut off that material with a pair of fabric scissors to create shorter sleeves on the short-sleeve T-shirt.
- 2). Measure the distance from the center of the neckline to the bottom of the T-shirt and label it “arm length.” Measure the width of the T-shirt from armpit to armpit and write the figure down as “width.”
- 3). Lay 1 yard of soft cotton or jersey knit fabric that complements one of your short-sleeve T-shirts onto a flat, even surface. Fold the fabric in half. Draw a bell curve onto the fabric with a fabric pencil equal to the width measurement you took earlier. Use a ruler or fabric measuring tape to make a mark equal in length to your “arm length” measurement. Place the ruler at the apex of the bell curve and measure down from that point.
- 4). Decide how wide you want each sleeve to be at the wrist and double that figure. Make a line equal to that length along the mark you just made for the arm length. Draw two lines angling down from the ends of the bell curve line in to the ends of the sleeve diameter line.
- 5). Cut out the pattern you created from the fabric with a pair of fabric scissors. Pin the edges together with sewing pins.
- 6). Fold the pinned fabric in half lengthwise and cut it in half along that line. Pin each edge to create two long sleeves for your long-sleeve shirt.
- 7). Turn your short-sleeve T-shirt inside-out. Pin the wide, top edge of each sleeve to the T-shirt, 1/2 inch above the short-sleeve edge with sewing pins.
- 8). Use a zigzag stitch on a sewing machine to sew the tops of the sleeves to the short-sleeve edge. Remove sewing pins as you go. Sew the remaining sides of the long sleeves.
- 9). Fold the T-shirt right-side out. Fold the bottom 1/2 inch of each sleeve cuff in. Use a zigzag stitch on a sewing machine to sew this material down to the inside of the sleeve, creating a net, even cuff on each sleeve.
- 10
Wash, iron and wear your new long-sleeve T-shirt. Reserve excess fabric for future sewing projects.