I made myself another sweatshirt, and this time I decided to share with you how I make my thumbhole cuffs!
Note: Your hand measurements may differ!
I used a stretch rib knit for this.
I decided that my cuff needed to be 4" wide to fit nicely on my hand. So take your measurement, multiply by 2 and add an inch for seam allowances (I used 1/2" seam allowances). My width is 9".
For the height, it will be the length of the cuff times two, plus seam allowance (I just used 12" because I like round numbers)
Cut two rectangles (mine were 9" x 12"). Make sure you pay attention to the grain and stretch. My ribbing was to be vertical with the stretch side to side.
Fold the fabric right sides together. My folded rectangle is now 9" wide by 6" tall.
Sew down the 6" sides with a stretch or zigzag stitch.
Next, mark where your thumbhole will start (from the wrist). I marked it at 3" from the bottom (raw, open) edge.
With the cuff still wrong side out, line up the seams together, matching up your thumbhole starting points. I use my pins at the 3" marks to line things up, and then pin together.
Starting at the raw, open edge, stitch in the ditch (I think that's what it's called) - basically sew through the existing seams to attach them together, up to the mark where your thumbhole will start (the red line in the drawing below). Stop at the mark where the thumbholes start, and backstitch.
Turn it right side out.
With the cuff right side out, I did a bar tack right at the opening because it's a pressure point that will get a lot of stretching. One of my store bought shirts had this so I figure it's legit.
Next, close the thumbhole. At the top of the cuff, where your hand will come out, butt the seams together and zigzag them together, mine went down an inch from the top. Make sure you get the "back" of the cuff out of the way, since you don't want to stitch that. In the drawing below, you start at the top (finished edge) and zigzag down to the red line. Backstitch at both ends.
On my first attempt, I lined up the seams of the cuff with the sleeve seams and it feels a little twisty. So for this one, I decided to offset the cuff seam from the sleeve seam so that it would feel more natural and not like I was twisting things up. So, I put on the shirt, and the cuffs (not sewn together just yet) and marked with pins where the cuff seam should line up on the sleeve, I was about 1 1/2" offset. I also made sure to extend my arms to make sure the cuff wouldn't pull too tight.
Next, attach the cuff to the sleeve. With the shirt sleeve wrong side out, insert the cuff upside down so right sides are together and raw edges are matched up. Set the cuff seam where you marked if you're going to offset it like I did. Pin around the cuff at 3, 6, 9, and 12 o'clock. Stitch it together using a stretch or zigzag stitch, stretching the knit cuff to match your sleeve as you go. I finished mine up by serging around the raw edges to tidy it up.
Voila! Thumbholes. Awesome.
