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Sewing cuffs along the whole length

RDiaz

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Hello,

This question is directed towards our tailors, or other DIYers. I've recently started making pant cuffs on my own. Results are quite good, but my dress trousers usually have a quite wide leg opening, which means more break is required to look right. "Anchoring" the cuff to the pant leg on just four points (the seams and the front and back creases) leaves the cuff flapping around a bit as it rests on the shoe. Is it OK to sew it all along the cuff's length in this case?

Thank you.
 

rs232

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You're doing something wrong if your cuff flaps open. Post pics.
 

RDiaz

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They do not flap to the point of being open, they just look sloppy when resting on the shoes, like they want to separate from the trouser leg. When trousers are not being worn and are laid flat, the cuffs look perfectly fine, no bunching, no wrinkles...

Here's a picture (extremely hard to take it myself though)...



I've marked in red the points where I've tacked them to the pant leg (on both creases and both seams on each leg).

Maybe this is how they're suppossed to look when sewn this way, and in that case, is it acceptable to attach them along the whole length if I like a cleaner look?
 
Last edited:

NORE

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They should look that way but I don't think you should anchor them at the creases, just at the seams.
 

oldog/oldtrix

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Cuffs originally were simply a functional way of keeping the hems of one’s trousers from dragging through the muck and damp by turning them up when walking in the country. The off-hand appearance they imparted was gradually adopted through institutionalized sprezzatura as the semi-permanent, pressed and tacked into place affairs we know today. The casual nature of cuffs, indeed they are never worn on formal trousers, would be lost if they were sewn in place all around. The English, whose countryside is the quintessence of mucky dampness, often refer to cuffs as “turn ups,” both to harken back to their origin and because it is too difficult to say rutabagas.
 

RDiaz

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So I guess they look the way they are suppossed to, and the "slopinness" is just due to the huge leg opening. I think I will even remove the tacking at the creases, then :)
Thanks a lot for the history lesson od/ot. Much appreciated!
 

joshuasaussey

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You can sew a blindstitch the whole way around the cuff and anchor at the seems. Will give enough hold without looking like it was glued onto the trousers leg.
 

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