#needleworkmonday :: Handsewn elbow sleeves from old t-shirt

It is Monday again! Happy #NeedleWorkMonday everyone!

In case you are wondering, why do we need elbow sleeves, I will have to say that, that is a very good question. Depending on the material used, elbow sleeves can keep warm, to help relieve aches and pains, to help avoid injury, to protect the hands from the sun ray when driving.

In my case, during the past few weeks, the skin around my elbow has been having rashes, especially when I am working the chores. Long sleeve tshirts or sweaters are too warm and long sleeve shirts are not comfortable with movements quite restricted due to the material. These elbow sleeves needed to be flexible to protect my skin with medication while I work on the chores and it is not as hot as wearing long sleeve t-shirts.



The sleeves needed to be flexible and the best material for this is tshirt material. For one, tshirt material, like knitted and jersey fabric, has a certain elasticity and is flexible and secondly, the edges don't fray as much. And old t-shirts are very comfy! Perfect for to protect my skin :)

Here is my chosen very-old t-shirt with huge holes, perfect for this project:


I measured my elbow and wrist first.
Then, I cut the sides below each side of the t=shirt's sleeve so that I will just need to sew one side only for each sleeve plus hemming each edge:

I chose a t-shirt with the least holes there.

And I needed 2 strips:


My sewing machine is still in coma, so, needle, here my fingers come...


But, before that, I wanted to try as much as possible to sew in a straight line and I used a tracing wheel to help me with this:


Here are the "traced holes" to guide me:


The hand sewing operation begins...


I used mostly the backstitch method because that is the straightest stitch I could do given the circumstances, although the sewing was still crooked as I was day dreaming a little while sewing :P


For both edges at the wrist and above the elbow, I folded twice to hand sew the hemming:


These are the stitches along the elbow sleeve without a need to hem the edges because they won't fray that much:


At the beginning and end of the joints, I double and tripled sewed because that is the part most vulnerable to tearing from pulling in and out of the elbow:


This is the right sides of the sleeve:


Not too bad, I reckon? :D A little rough but these will have to do for now :)


This is the view of the wrong side:


And the right side:


It fits quite snugly but still comfortable and breathable...


This could have been a 10 minute project with a sewing machine but when hand sewing is the only option, I needed 2 to 3 hours for both sleeves :D

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Here's wishing everyone a good week ahead and
Happy #NeedleWorkMonday! Take care everyone!

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