Don’t you hate it when your sweater sleeves are just a little bit too short? Clothes are not one size fits all and having sleeves that aren’t quite long enough is a common problem for tall people. That’s where crochet life hacks come in! This quick and easy tutorial will show you how to add cute and colorful crochet sleeve extenders into your sweater sleeves to make them longer. Pretty cool, huh?
If you use crochet life hacks like this one to upgrade and customize your wardrobe, I’d love to see your creations – so please tag me! @nineinspired on IG & Tiktok and @nineinspiredblog on Pinterest and Facebook
Save This Pattern For Later
Materials
Worsted, size 4, medium weight yarn in 3 colors of your choice
5 mm hook
Sewing Needle & Thread or Sewing Machine
Sewing Pins or Clips
Skill Level
Intermediate
Abbreviations
US Terminology
ch = chain
st = stitch
sk = skip
sl st = slip stitch
sc = single crochet
dc = double crochet
Sleeve Insert (Make 2)
Starting with the color of your choice, ch a multiple of 3 (I did 54 chs. Your number of chs will depend on the width around your sleeve) and sl st to the 1st ch to make a loop.
Round 1: Ch 1, sc in the first st and each st around, sl st to join to the first st. (54)
Round 2: Ch 3 (counts as a stitch here and throughout), 2 dc in the first st, sk the next 2 sts, *3 dc in the next st, sk the next 2 sts, repeat from * around, sl st to the first st to join. Fasten off. (54)
Round 3: Attach your 2nd color of yarn in the space between any 2 groups of 3 dc’s. Ch 3, 2 dc in the same space, *3 dc in the next space, repeat from * around, sl st to the first st to join. Fasten Off.
Round 4: Repeat round 3 with the 3rd color of yarn but don’t fasten off.
Round 5: Ch 1, sc in the first st and in each st around, sl st to join to the first st. Fasten off.
Attaching
Step 1: Put your sweater on and mark where you want to put your sleeve insert. I marked one arm while wearing it, took it off, folded it to line the arms up, and then I marked the other arm.
Step 2: Lay the sweater flat with the arms outstretched and cut the sleeves straight across where you have marked.
Step 3: Position the sleeve insert around the upper arm opening on the sweater. The wrong side of the crochet should be facing out and the sweater itself should be right side out. Pin the two pieces together and sew around.
Step 4: Unfold the crochet piece from the upper arm opening. You should see the right side of both the crochet and the sweater. You shouldn’t be able to see your stitches.
Step 5: Position the lower sleeve around the sleeve insert. The lower sleeve should be inside out and the sleeve insert should be right side out. Pin the two pieces together and sew around.
Step 6: Unfold the lower sleeve to reveal your newly lengthened sleeve complete with a cute crochet sleeve insert!
Repeat steps for the other arm.
For added durability, you may want to blanket stitch the sewn seams.
Is it time for a selfie now? I think yes. 🙂
Crochet life hacks like this one are just one of the many reasons I love being able to crochet! I was contemplating donating this sweater but I’m glad that I was able to fix it to fit better instead and give it a second life. I’ll be wearing this sweater a lot more from now on!
__________________________
Copyright © 2019-2024 Nine Inspired. All rights reserved. Please do not redistribute this pattern as your own, but feel free to sell finished items made from this pattern. I would appreciate it if you would credit Nine Inspired as the designer.