• Hi, I am the owner and main administrator of Styleforum. If you find the forum useful and fun, please help support it by buying through the posted links on the forum. Our main, very popular sales thread, where the latest and best sales are listed, are posted HERE

    Purchases made through some of our links earns a commission for the forum and allows us to do the work of maintaining and improving it. Finally, thanks for being a part of this community. We realize that there are many choices today on the internet, and we have all of you to thank for making Styleforum the foremost destination for discussions of menswear.
  • This site contains affiliate links for which Styleforum may be compensated.
  • We would like to welcome House of Huntington as an official Affiliate Vendor. Shop past season Drake's, Nigel Cabourn, Private White V.C. and other menswear luxury brands at exceptional prices below retail. Please visit the Houise of Huntington thread and welcome them to the forum.

  • STYLE. COMMUNITY. GREAT CLOTHING.

    Bored of counting likes on social networks? At Styleforum, you’ll find rousing discussions that go beyond strings of emojis.

    Click Here to join Styleforum's thousands of style enthusiasts today!

    Styleforum is supported in part by commission earning affiliate links sitewide. Please support us by using them. You may learn more here.

Altering cuffs on french cuff shirts

bryce330

Senior Member
Joined
Feb 18, 2003
Messages
803
Reaction score
3
Is it possible to alter a shirt with overly loose french cuffs?

I know that on button cuff shirts you can just move the buttons over a little to tighten the cuffs but is there anything that can be done for french cuffs?
 

j

(stands for Jerk)
Admin
Spamminator Moderator
Joined
Feb 17, 2002
Messages
14,663
Reaction score
105
Use tighter cufflinks? Maybe shrink them by soaking them in ultra hot water? Have the cuffs remade with white fabric, tighter? I really don't see how the original cuffs could be recut any tighter. I wish it were possible, as some of my shirts have this problem.
 

Charley

Distinguished Member
Joined
Feb 18, 2005
Messages
2,605
Reaction score
6
I just had this done to some shirts. The cuffs were too large, and too loose. It is more of a job than it first appears.

I first thought that the tailor could simply sew up a bit of the bottom of the hole on each side, and extend it at the top to compensate. That was going to look pretty bad, and would not solve the large cuff problem.

Hold the cuff as if it were linked closed. Then move one side up so that the bottom fabric edge makes contact with the top of the hole from the other side. I believe that is the amount that will have to be removed - at a minimum. Then a new hole will have to be cut and bound. It will also require removing the cuff, adjusting the placquet, and maybe the sleeve diameter.

Button cuffs are easier to adjust a bit.
An alternative I did not look at - and should have - would be to simply convert them to button cuffs while they are removed.
 

Margaret

Distinguished Member
Joined
Apr 7, 2006
Messages
1,259
Reaction score
1
If it's a patterned shirt, I'd think it would be easier to simply replace the cuffs with contrasting white cuffs, instead of trying to alter an existing cuff.
 

Featured Sponsor

How important is full vs half canvas to you for heavier sport jackets?

  • Definitely full canvas only

    Votes: 55 35.3%
  • Half canvas is fine

    Votes: 61 39.1%
  • Really don't care

    Votes: 17 10.9%
  • Depends on fabric

    Votes: 27 17.3%
  • Depends on price

    Votes: 28 17.9%

Forum statistics

Threads
505,207
Messages
10,579,311
Members
223,892
Latest member
cprice
Top