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akicilj

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Does anyone know the name of the stitch demonstrated (with terrible camera work and editing) in this YouTube video? The person doing the sewing has an unerring instinct for moving the fabric or her hand just at the correct point to completely obscure the thing you want to see, and I gave up at the point where she put the fabric down for an overhead shot of her sewing, and then MOVED THE FABRIC SO IT WAS OUT OF FOCUS.

(I have a hoodie that I've owned for almost a year but been unable to wear because the sleeves are too long, and I'm not going to my alterations person in this time of plague, and I'm also not up for hauling my sewing machine out right now, so looking at hand-stitching solutions. Yeah, no, I have no idea why hand stitching is preferable to machine at this point, but there you go.)

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Looks like she's doing a "blanket stitch".

There's another stretch-stitch option here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YNXtJnnpPA0 and you can see what she's doing at 02:30. Which seems to be functionally the same as this invisible hem https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vsek3CggSj8 but using taller/more diagonal stitches.

Edited 2020-11-02 16:55 (UTC)

Agreed, blanket stitch variant. I went and checked via non-video sources instead, heh--glad to see the video clips as well.

Thanks! :)

Thanks! My brain had thrown up "blanket stitch" as well, but a quick google showed something that looked nothing like what she was doing, so I wasn't sure.

Herringbone stitch has more give than blanket stitch. It's a good choice when you want some flex and movement in the fabric, or for attaching a hem to a lining (for example, in a jacket sleeve). Is your sweatshirt sleeve cuffed?

A diagram:

https://www.needlework-tips-and-techniques.com/herringbone-stitch.html

A better video, from Coats the thread people:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GpObaao9wJo

Oh, it has multiple cuffs. Imgur album (with varying approaches to focus, and a random order that the pics uploaded in).

Essentially, the cuff is made of 3 pieces: an inner ribbed cuff for fit/to keep breezes out, an outer cuff that's straight to fit the vaguely military design, and a band around the cuff that snaps, for more military flair. (Of course the band is attached only at the snap, so I will be tacking it down to keep it from flopping about, which it what it does now.)

All three cuff pieces seem to be sewn onto the sleeve as one, although I can't be sure until I unpick the stitching. Hopefully they're attached together into one piece, which will make fixing them easier.

The original terrible video shows a blanket stitch variation, different from the common blanket stitch in that she's working into alternating sides of the fabric with every other stitch, instead of keeping to the same side for the whole seam. This should be a little more flexy/stretchy than ordinary blanket stitch, but I think it can only be worked where the seam is at a free edge or fold -- it wouldn't work as a decorative stitch on the flat, or to fell a seam, or to join two edges lapped or overlapped.

If you're just looking to make the sleeves shorter, can I suggest as easier than disassembling and reassembling a 3-piece cuff: shortening the sleeve either in the middle (just do a French, or for more military/ tactical-tough flair, flat-felled seam, around the forearm or bicep or if you need to loose a LOT of length, both), or at the armscye so you only have one seam to unpick and re-sew?
You can use blanket stitch (ordinary or the special snowflake from the video) or herringbone in either location, worked on the inside of the garment so the wrongside/outside only shows a straight line (2 parallel lines in herringbone, like the rightside of serged seams common for factory-made garments) that looks like running stitch. Unless you want the decorative effect on the outside.

I used to buy cuffed, button-down professional shirts sized too big for my frame so they'd have enough material to not to strain over my chest or butt, and shorten the sleeves invisibly at the armscye so I needn't mess with the complex professional cuffs; it's surprisingly easy, unless there is a ton of shaping/pleating/taper at the top of the sleeve. It'd be even easier with sweatshirt material which is more forgiving than oxford or broadcloth.

Hmmm, I hadn't thought of doing the shortening higher. I have to lose about 2 inches. I'm leery of the armscye since there's a lot of tapering to deal with, but the forearm wouldn't be too bad.

Thanks!

Good luck! And if you don't cut the fabric at your mid-arm seams, only fold and sew, then you're not committed; if you don't like how it comes out, you can just unpick, and alter at the cuff after all.

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