Alternative to shorten sleeves from shoulder

[mussel]

I just think of an alternative way to shorten sleeves with working button holes from shoulder. Have a reweaver removed the stitiching from the button holes, close the botton holes by reweaving and then shorten the sleeves.

When button holes are made, do tailors cut off fabrics from the holes? Or they just **** openings for the holes?

Do you think this method will work? And cost?

 

[zjpj83]

Wouldn't work, and cost would be hugely expensive. I had a moth hole once in a sweater that I wanted to be filled in. Cost a fortune and looked clearly like it had been patched.

 

[johnnynorman3]

This would cost more than shortening from the shoulder, wouldn't look as good, and would require an even more skilled hand.

Look, I'm of the opinion that if you don't want the risk/expense of shoulder shortening, you should just bit the bullet and have the sleeve buttons closer to the cuff edge. I mean, really, if they are 1.25" from the cuff, does it REALLY make that big a difference if you make then .75" away? Maybe Manton would frown on you, but objectively . . .

 

[j]

This would cost more than shortening from the shoulder, wouldn't look as good, and would require an even more skilled hand. Â Look, I'm of the opinion that if you don't want the risk/expense of shoulder shortening, you should just bit the bullet and have the sleeve buttons closer to the cuff edge. Â I mean, really, if they are 1.25" from the cuff, does it REALLY make that big a difference if you make then .75" away? Â Maybe Manton would frown on you, but objectively . . .

Ah-ha, ah-ha,.. the letter two, my friend...: If you have arms of different lengths, which most people do to varying degrees, this would yield sleeves whose button-to-cuff-end distances were different, in some cases quite noticeably. Mine would be off by 1/4 to 3/8, IIRC, which even if not noticeable to the average person, would bother me intensely. If you can get away with it, though, it is a perfectly serviceable option. As I have said before, I prefer the cuff buttons closer to the end of the sleeve anyway, though I am in the minority there.

 

[Manton]

When button holes are made, do tailors cut off fabrics from the holes?  Or they just **** openings for the holes?

Most makers do in fact remove a little fabric from the holes, either in the shape of a keyhole (more common) or a teardrop (tends to be done more by the Italians).

 

[johnnynorman3]

Quote:

(johnnynorman3 @ 13 Dec. 2004, 9:02) This would cost more than shortening from the shoulder, wouldn't look as good, and would require an even more skilled hand. Â Look, I'm of the opinion that if you don't want the risk/expense of shoulder shortening, you should just bit the bullet and have the sleeve buttons closer to the cuff edge. Â I mean, really, if they are 1.25" from the cuff, does it REALLY make that big a difference if you make then .75" away? Â Maybe Manton would frown on you, but objectively . . .
Ah-ha, ah-ha,.. the letter two, my friend...: If you have arms of different lengths, which most people do to varying degrees, this would yield sleeves whose button-to-cuff-end distances were different, in some cases quite noticeably. Mine would be off by 1/4 to 3/8, IIRC, which even if not noticeable to the average person, would bother me intensely. If you can get away with it, though, it is a perfectly serviceable option. As I have said before, I prefer the cuff buttons closer to the end of the sleeve anyway, though I am in the minority there.
Noticeable to whom? Certainly not to an observer -- his/her eye cannot possibly focus in on two sleeves at the same time to do a comparison. Certainly not the wearer because you can't even really SEE your own sleeve buttons. Only when looking at the garment up close and unworn could it be noticeable. Would it bother you? Maybe. Would it bother me? Possibly. But we've already established we're crazy. The question is whether the bother is so much that its worth the $100 to have the sleeve shortened by the shoulder.

 

[Manton]

I have one related question:  On some thread recently, I believe one person said shortening sleeves from the shoulder is more difficult on bespoke garments than on RTW.  If so, why?

Most tailors leave as little excess cloth there as possible. They purposely build in excess cloth in places where a guy is likely to expand. They don't build in excess cloth to enable a coat to be fundamentally altered to fit someone else.

 

[armscye]

I have had full buttonhole sleeves adjusted for length from the bottom, shortening the sleeves about a half inch. Here's the process:

The buttonhole actually goes through two layers of fabric-- the outer suit fabric and an inner layer of suit fabric. The buttonhole threads bring those two layers together. If you undo the thread (not an easy trick without traumatizing the fabric). you can vary the point at which the cuff rolls over, oreeferably sliding up or down one buttonhole width, then restitching. It doesn't give scads of adjustability, but some.