Best Way To Professionally Shorten Sleeves On Fully Lined Leather Jackets/coats

[dominic]

A big hi to everyone on this forum,

I collect and sell vintage leather clothing (mostly leather jackets and coats).

Does anyone have the secret of professionally shortening sleeves from the bottom on fully lined leather jackets/coats?

Any instructions, especially with pictures/drawings, would be greatly appreciated.

I've searched this forum, and other places, didn't find anything specific about this type of leather clothing alteration.

There were some videos on the web, but unfortunately no drawings/sketches.

Many thanks

Dominic

[Northmount]

I have seen people shorten sleeves on fabric coats, jackets and shirts. Typically, there is a cuff. Remove the cuff carefully so there are no nicks. Observe how the lining was attached. Shorten the sleeve and lining, then put the cuff back on. The problem I see with leather is the old stich marks on the cuff to sleeve joint. Maybe it would be best to hand stich the cuff back on rather than use a machine. Then you can use the same holes and it will look just like the original.

If there is not a separate piece as a cuff that can be removed, then I would again carefully pick out the stitches. Shorten both sleeve and lining by the same amount and reassemble same as it was originally done.

Becarefull to keep the same alignment. Don't want the buttons or snaps to be twisted around to different positions. Might look like someone has a broken arm!

Try looking up sewing alterations on sewing websites. Should be some examples and pictures of how to.

Edited November 13, 2011 by northmount

[dominic]

I have seen people shorten sleeves on fabric coats, jackets and shirts. Typically, there is a cuff. Remove the cuff carefully so there are no nicks. Observe how the lining was attached. Shorten the sleeve and lining, then put the cuff back on. The problem I see with leather is the old stich marks on the cuff to sleeve joint. Maybe it would be best to hand stich the cuff back on rather than use a machine. Then you can use the same holes and it will look just like the original.

If there is not a separate piece as a cuff that can be removed, then I would again carefully pick out the stitches. Shorten both sleeve and lining by the same amount and reassemble same as it was originally done.

Becarefull to keep the same alignment. Don't want the buttons or snaps to be twisted around to different positions. Might look like someone has a broken arm!

Try looking up sewing alterations on sewing websites. Should be some examples and pictures of how to.

I agree, hand stiching the cuffs back using the same holes is the best technique!

Alas, the trickiest part for me is figuring out how to re-assemble the lining to the straight sleeves 'without cuffs' by machine.

I can do it manually, but it lacks a neat and professional look.

I suspect there must be a technique that must be learned...any help would be appreciated.

Dominic