DIY: Capped Sleeves

Several weeks ago I did an in-between-sizes fashion post here on Chic Critique. Right after that, I found a great nursing-friendly dress (which are few and far between) and did a little follow-up post on the dress on my own blog.

SEVERAL people have asked me how I altered the sleeves. So I’m going to show you. It’s easy, I promise! (Granted that you sort of know your way around a sewing machine, or have a friend/mom/sister who does…)

Here is the original dress:

It’s not very obvious from that photo, but in the review section of Target’s website, there were a couple of comments about the sleeves. They tend to stick out a little.

Here’s my version:

All I did was sew a little strip of elastic underneath both sleeves:

That’s about 3 inches of elastic (not stretched). I held the middle of the elastic to the middle of the inner sleeve and pulled one end to where it should start, and inserted the needle there. You sew along the elastic as it’s PULLED TAUT with your other hand. AND YES, it’s hard to sew straight while holding and pulling elastic. Don’t mention it. 😉

Here’s what the sleeve looks like flat, the elastic pulled out on both ends (it’s the best photo I can do for now, with one hand holding the camera):

Using elastic is great because it’s flexible. If you need more sleeve room, you have it.

(You know, to reach out to grab the toddler running past.) (Or to catch the dog.) (Or to reach your coffee from the other side of the conference table.)