Happy New Year! This is the only bit of sewing I could get done in the last few months of 2017. I bought this sweater several years ago in the men’s section. I liked that is was $7 on clearance, super warm, and the dark green color. The only problem is that after wearing it for a few hours the sleeves would stretch out like crazy!
So I decided to do a little altering! I could have removed the knit textured cuff and moved it up to make it shorter, but I actually like the length. I love long sleeves that cover my fingers! It’s like having build in mittens!
First I wore it for a few hours so the sleeves would stretch, then I laid one of my regular sweaters on top of it.
The green sweater does not have quite as much stretch as my blue sweater, so I decided to make it a little bit bigger than the blue sleeve.
First I basted, tried it on, and then trimmed the edge. Then I finished the edge with a tight zig zag stitch.
I decided instead of shortening these sleeves I would add thumb holes by adding long button holes! Below is my test piece.
The first button hole was too short. I ended up using the whole length of my button hole foot!
TA DA! Super toasty clearance sweater, now with snazzy thumb-holes!
Someday Sewing 
What a clever solution! I thought you were going to add clear elastic, twill tape, or some other stabilizer to keep the sleeves from stretching out so much, but I actually like this idea much better. Brava!
Wow! Those are all great ideas…that totally never crossed my mind. Thanks! I would never have thought of those. Maybe these will work for another project!
Wow! This looks so much better, still cozy & comfy but now it fits
Fabulous job great tip!
Becca G
Thanks! I kind of feel like I turned my clearance sweater into a winner.
The sweater looks great now, what a simple fix!