The Ultimate Puffy Sleeve Guide

Do you feel like changing your look but don’t want to buy all new clothes? You’re in the right place! This quick and easy guide to making puffy sleeves for your T-shirts will help to take your basic pieces to the next level in just a few steps. Follow this guide to enhance your own T-shirts or make a cool and unique gift for your loved ones! 

Tools and Supplies 

Puffy sleeves for T-shirts are easy to make with just a few supplies. In addition to your trusty sewing machine, you’ll need:

• A sleeveless T-shirt
• Extra fabric for the sleeves
• Tissue paper to trace

Now you’re ready to get crafting! 

Instructions 

1. Trace the shape you want your sleeve to take onto your tissue paper (it looks somewhat like a bell shape with a flat bottom) and cut it out. Then, lay the piece of tissue paper on your sleeve fabric so you can cut that out accurately.

2. Draw a line approximately halfway up your sleeve-shaped tissue paper, and then draw a series of lines above to create six pie-like shapes.

3. Cut the pie shapes apart on your tissue paper and place them on another piece of tissue. Separate them by roughly two centimeters on the edges. The outsides of these pieces should still combine to look like a sleeve curve.

4. Retrace this new shape with the two centimeters of space between each pie shape. This will be your gathering mark.

5. Move this cut-out shape to your sleeve fabric and use it to trace and cut out two sleeves.

6. With your sewing machine, sew together the neckline and shoulder of your sleeve material and sleeveless T-shirt. Create a gathering stitch between the marks you made on your sleeves in step four.

7. Pull on the gathering threads until the sleeve edge matches the opening at the shoulder. Make sure to compare back to the original pattern of the sleeve lining on the T-shirt to ensure it’s aligned properly. You can clip or pin the sleeve onto the shoulder to check before taking your sewing machine and sewing them together.

8. An optional step is to add a band at the sleeve’s bottom to gather it in slightly, which accentuates the puffiness.

Enjoy your new puffy-sleeved shirt! Ready to tackle another DIY craft? Check out Goldstar Tool for DIY ideas, crafting supplies, and more. Contact us with any questions you may have!