Gauntlet Cuff Alterations?

[Livonian]

Does anyone know if it's possible to take up the gauntlet-cuffed sleeves of an Argyll jacket? Assuming it is feasible, what should I expect a competent tailor to charge, and should I give said tailor any special instructions?

The sleeve in question needs to be shortened by at least 1.5 inches, and I'm not completely averse to losing the "gauntlet" part of the cuff.

[Todd Bradshaw]

My wife did one of mine, shortening the sleeves by about an inch and had no trouble. In our case, the small sewn "pleats" (or whatever those small sewn vertical ridges on the cuffs are called) continue around the sleeve bottom and on the inside of the cuff. There were a couple of small bar tacks that held the hem where it had been. She took those out, folded a larger hem with the excess inside the sleeve, pressed it and took up a little bit of the lining to match (they're normally made a little bit slack, but not that slack). I think she also did a little tacking as well, just to be sure everything stayed put.

Price? I had to make her a fancy leather purse, though I think most tailors work for real money. I have no idea what it would cost, but it is probably a similarly simple task that doesn't take very long to do.

[Mike S]

I altered my latest Argyll jacket myself in such a manner, so it is indeed possible:

http://www.xmarksthescot.com/forum/f...-review-88068/

Depending on how the jacket cuff in question is attached, it generally involved removing the buttons, removing the gauntlet cuff itself, altering the length of the sleeve and lining, reassembling the gauntlet at the seam, reattaching it to the sleeve at the seam and topstitching at the top of the cuff, blind stitching back into place the lining at the lower inside edge of the cuff/sleeve, and reattaching the buttons.

That is easy enough for those of us experienced in sewing, but will need to be performed by a seamstress/tailor otherwise.

[Livonian]

So it looks like I'll be paying a visit to my local tailor this week... I just wanted to make sure that I won't have to fork over huge amounts of cash. The descriptions of the process will also prove valuable when commissioning the work, and hopefully net a lower cost.

Thank you for the information.

[Cygnus]

I erred on the side of length when I ordered my regulation doublet a few years ago and ended-up with sleeves about an inch too long. As the buttons are removable, there are holes through the sleeve itself, so reducing the sleeve length at the cuff was not an option.

Thankfully, my tailor is very talented and did an excellent job of shortening the sleeves at the shoulders. One cannot even tell that the jacket wasn't constructed with sleeves that length. The bill came to about US$35, which I thought was very reasonable.