Cardigan with Ruching DIY

For a while now, I've been hunting for one of those long in the front, drapey kind of cardigans that seem to be so popular.  I figured anything that would hide some lumps and bumps is great for me. :)  I also wanted it to be a little more fun, not the same as everyone else around here who all seem to have bought them at the same store.  So a few months ago, while browsing through Ross's (love that store) I came across this awesome black cardigan.  It was a little different than the plain old boring because it has these cute knots down the front.  I didn't really want long sleeved (it was the beginning of summer when I found it) but it was only $7 so I went for it.  After bringing it home, I remembered I had found this tutorial for ruching the sleeves and had been waiting for something cute to try it out on. Perfect! However, after looking around the internet some more, I found an even easier way to do this - elastic thread. So here's my tutorial on ruching sleeves - great for sleeves that shrink in the wash, are stained, or just for putting a little fun into something plain.

Supplies:
Article of clothing
Elastic thread - coolest thing ever (or right now at least c: )
Matching color thread to garment
Marking utensil (tailors chalk, fabric marker, soap)
Sewing machine

Start by finding the middle of the sleeve. If your material will hold a crease, that is the easiest way.  Lay the sleeve flat and iron it.  My material was too soft, flowy thin to keep a crease, so I had to lay it on on my cutting mat, adjust the hem underneath, make sure each side was even, just make sure I was getting it in the middle.  A little more work, but really not that hard. When you find the middle, lay it out on a cutting mat, as I mentioned, and using a ruler and I actually used my mom's best trick of a pointy bar of soap, mark from the shoulder seam straight down the middle to the cuff.


Now comes the fun part, using the elastic thread. You're going to have the elastic thread in the bobbin and the matching color thread on top. You have to hand wind the bobbin, which only takes a few seconds, with just a little tension, you're not stretching the elastic out. Then just load the bobbin as normal, have your top thread in and starting at the seam on the shoulder, slowly stitch straight down the sleeve on the line you marked. Make sure to backstitch at the beginning and end. That's it! The hardest part is making sure you don't sew your sleeve shut, keep that bottom layer out of the way.

Kind of a weird picture. Not the best shirt to wear under it, but was just throwing it on for the picture. And I suppose I was trying to get a better picture of the sleeves, holding my arms out a little and that's why I look like I'm wearing football pads. lol  Anyway, there's the sleeves before and after. It was a fun simple little addition to spice up any top.

Ta Da!!

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