Alterations/changes

[pretty faythe]

I recieved a really nice dress. Purty, just as described. Fits every where except for my arms. A problem I have with clothes of today also (stupid work making me work with my arms building muscles....sshhheeesshh).lol
What are suggestions for altering this? They are really tight..let me get measurements. The arms on dress is about 14.50 ", my arm measures about 15". The area the arm comes to is about 1.5" above elbow. What sounds good? Cutting the arms a little bit shorter to where the material is more flowing? The arms are a little puffy and taper in close to the elbow.
Tried to take a pic of said sleaves but they are not showing up very well.

 

[jitterbugdoll]

Do the sleeves have any seam allowance? I have let out the sleeves out on a couple of too snug fitting garments before--it's quite easy to do, and doesn’t require altering the basic look of the sleeve.

 

[NicolettaRose]

I had a 1920's dress like this, it was a dress that was probably orginally made for someone who was about 12-13, what I did was have a seamstress take off the sleeves, so it became a sleeveless dress. If it is a raglan type sleeve, you can probably do this easily.

 

[pretty faythe]

I had a 1920's dress like this, it was a dress that was probably orginally made for someone who was about 12-13, what I did was have a seamstress take off the sleeves, so it became a sleeveless dress. If it is a raglan type sleeve, you can probably do this easily.

I thought about removing the sleeve for a second, but vanity over took that thought. lol. I hate my arms. Theres enough of an allowance that I should be able to let them out as suggested by jitterbugdoll.
Thanks:eusa_clap

 

[ohairas]

I always had that problem Faythe, my arms are SO short! If you happen to not get enough seam allowance afterall, perhaps you can add a strip of fabric underneath that will be camoflauged enough. Hope it works out for you!
I had a satin blouse that had short, almost cap sleeves. I just undid the seam underneath and left it, lol!

Nikki

 

[Daisy Buchanan]

As Jitterbug said, I would see if there is enough seam allowance and just open up the sleeve to make it roomier.
You can shorten the sleeve, if it doesn't mess with the continuity of the dress.
I have this problem too.It seems like a lot of my 30's dresses have really narrow sleeves:eusa_doh: I cut off the narrower part and just dealt with a shorter sleeve. Only think is, if you do it that way, you have to re-do the edges. It just seems like it would be easier to let the seam out a bit if their is enough seam to do so.
I wouldn't cut the sleeve off completely. It has been my experience that if a dress is made with sleeves it was made so for a reason, probably because it looked good this way. I know flapper dresses were tank style or sleeveless but most of the swing dresses I have are not.
I know what you're going through, wanting to cover the arms. I have the same thing. I played tennis for over 20 years, 6 days a week. My friends used to call me "guns"!! Just what every lady wants to be called. I always feel like I have to keep them covered. Especially now since I'm not playing anymore and they don't have the definition they used to

Good luck, I'd love to see a picture of the dress

 

[Elaina]

They did have flapper dresses with sleeves, rare, but they were out there.

I, too, don't wear sleeveless. After my illness, my arms are scarred from under the arms to inside the elbows. I've had a couple of dresses that were sleeveless, and I added sleeves. Nice thing is, there's a finite number of sleeves and with a little work, you can change them in and out at will. My problem is I have short little stubby arms, and 3/4 sleeves generally hit the top of my wrist, so I have to alter sleeves in everything, even if I buy it. (Usually it's about 4 inches too much. Yet another thing I blame my dad for. Not only did I wind up looking like Howdy doody's daughter, but I'm built like Popeye in the arms.)

All else fails, you can remake the sleeve into another style.