No More Puff Sleeves!

About 3 years ago, almost all button up shirts had puff sleeves. It was trendy right then and there. I think it may have been when Mad Men started airing (which is silly because puff sleeves are more like a '40s thing).

At the time, I thought that I was getting a good deal on a few button up work shirts. However I've gotten very little use out of these because the interior sleeve circumference is about 12.5" (size XL, stretch cotton) which is about my arm circumference right above my elbow where the sleeves sit at first. Farther up my arm, where the sleeves eventually end up as I work, my arm ranges anywhere from 13"-15", especially when flexing. So after about an hour of working, I'll discover that suddenly I can't feel my left hand or its tingling. Then the weather gets cold and I forget that this happens until I can start wearing lighter shirts again. This year, I have determined to fix it.

Here is what the puff sleeve looks like before:



Notice how the sleeve is gathered at the top to begin with? I'm pretty sure that taking the gathered seam off the bottom isn't going to make them any puffier up there.

I tried to take off just the little band of fabric around the bottom with a seam ripper first but the thread they used is tiny and i found myself quickly ripping the crap out of it with the seam ripper. I cut off that band and then straightened it out on the floor and cut them straight. I followed that with a simple one fold edge and then used a liquid stitch reinforcer behind the seam allowance to prevent any fraying.