A really fun (and cute!) way to shorten a sleeve or pant leg without re-hemming is to add a bit of ruching. You can do this to RTW clothes as easily as clothing you have made for yourself, and best of all—it is fast and easy!
The only slightly tricky part is deciding what length you want to be gathered. This is definitely a case where less is more, because the finished ruching section will be approximately half the length you initially measure. For my sweater sleeve example, I put the sweater on and marked with a pin approximately where I wanted the upper end of the ruching. Keep in mind the bottom edge of the ruching will obviously be lower—how much depends on the length you gather—but about half is in the ballpark! The good news is if you don’t ruche enough, you can just add a bit more elastic on top of the area you already completed. No need to rip anything out, just add a new section right on top of the first one.
These supplies will be needed for this project:
- Garment to be ruched (knit sweater or top, or leggings are good choices)
- Thread
- Fabric marker(chalk, Frixion pen, etc)
- Narrow elastic (I used 1/4†clear elastic)
- Basic sewing supplies
- Sewing machine with a zig-zag stitch
OK, let’s get started with the specifics. Here’s how you ruche a sleeve:
1. Turn the garment inside-out, and fold in half. Measure the length you want to ruche on the fold (opposite the seam) and mark with a pin. In my example I put a pin 7 inches from the hem edge, which will result in approximately 3-4 inches of ruching when I am done.
2. Draw a chalk line along the fold from the hem edge to the pin. You can use any marker appropriate for your fabric; I just used chalk because it showed up the best on my cheetah print sweater knit. Not great, but better than anything else I tried!
3. Set your sewing machine to a medium-ish zig-zag stitch. I used L=3 and W=4.
4. Lay your elastic on the hem edge of the chalk line, extending it beyond the hem by an inch or more. DO NOT CUT ANY ELASTIC.
5. Secure the elastic in place by backstitching over the elastic to the hem edge, and then take 5-6 stitches forward and stop.
6. With your sewing machine needle down securing the fabric + elastic in place, pull hard on the long end of the elastic and lay it directly over the chalk line. At the same time, from the back of your machine pull on the hem edge of your garment (hem pulling not shown above since I needed one hand to shoot!).
7. Zig-zag directly on top of your super-stretched-out elastic. Go slowly, and make sure you are not catching anything but the one layer of your sleeve while stitching—things are definitely bunchy so it is easy to catch another part of the sleeve. You will only be able to stitch a few inches at a time.
8. When you get to the end of your chalk mark, backstitch or lockstitch to secure the zig-zag stitching.
9. Now you can cut the elastic. Trim threads and cut off the excess elastic at both ends, and you are done and done!
I hope you have fun with this technique. I have used it as a quick fix for droopy sleeves and also when I just want this detail on my garment. Try it and let me know what you think!
Happy sewing!
Maris