Short to Long Sleeves – a Quick and Easy Tutorial

Truth be told, long-sleeved shirts get much more wear around here than short-sleeved. While our summer season isn’t very long [insert sad face here], we do have a great spring and fall.

So when I found a grey polo for my two-year-old on clearance, I snatched it up, knowing that I wanted to change it from short to long sleeves. Partly for weather reasons, partly because seriously, a plain grey polo… well, it’s plain.

So, grab your plain old short sleeved tee, and get started!

I cut off and used the sleeves of a different shirt to make this quick fix… super quick. If you don’t have a shirt to use [but I know you do – check the back of your closet – you’ll find one!] you’ll have to make some tubes for sleeves. But by using existing sleeves, you don’t have to worry about hemming or much cutting.

Next, I used the sleeves of a shirt my little guy already wears as a guide for how long to make the sleeves. You want to cut your sleeve to be just above where you are going to sew it.

The shirt sleeve was a little larger than I needed it, so I just trimmed it down a bit. How much you trim will depend on how wide your kiddo’s shirt sleeve is and how wide the one is that you’re going to attach.

Now zig-zag stitch across the open side of the sleeve.

Then simply pin the shirt sleeves inside your short sleeves and stitch along the existing stitching. If your fabric needs a little stretch here, use a narrow zig-zag or other stretch stitch.