What makes a good cuff?

Ok, so this is by far the most niche thing I've ever written. But after getting a great jacket (that I'll write about some other time!) that only had one problem, I wanted to gather my thoughts on this tiny subject. The “problem” was: It doesn't cuff perfectly.

What's the deal with cuffing anyway??

Cuffing is when you fold the sleeves of a shirt, jacket, sweater etc. It's also commonly used when you do the same to leg opening of pants or shorts. And I'm an avid cuffer! The three reasons are:

  1. I'm 1.75 m tall, and my legs and arms aren't especially long – so clothes are usually too long.
  2. Related, I like watches, bracelets, shoes and socks – and cuffing shows them off.
  3. I often think it makes the clothes themselves look better.

Here's some examples of what I mean by nr. 2 and 3:

A P.O.V. picture of me looking at my watch on my desk. As my shirt is cuffed, I can easily see my watch.

The cuffed shirt makes the watch more prominent - to myself and others.

A picture of me in front of my car. I'm wearing a Sugar Cane Type II denim jacket over a shirt. I'm also wearing blue shorts from Mister Freedom and black sneakers from Crown Northampton.

The cuffed jacket gives the bracelets more space. A bonus-point, is that it would've shown off my shirt sleeve, had it been long. (Cuffed Mister Freedom shorts as well!)

Outside a cabin in the woods, playing Ganz Schön Clever.

Making a long-sleeve shirt a short-sleeve - another reason for cuffing!

Me hugging my dog, Vincent.

I think baggy shirt sleeves like this looks better cuffed. (Sorry for the mediocre quality - but I like this picture, because this was just after us being reunited. Vincent had gotten away from us because he tried to look for me when I left that day!)

A T-shirt folded to times, then sown with a cross stitch.

On short sleeves, which I never un-cuff, I like to make 2-4 little cross-stitches like this to keep them cuffed. Contrast stiches is fun.

I'm standing in the garden with some black sneakers. I have some black raw denim from Naked & Famous.

I just like the look of cuffed jeans - especially if they're selvedge. And it shows of the shoes and socks as well (not that these gray socks are especially interesting).

Now on to some “Cuffing theory”:

(I told you this post was niche!)

Cuffing is a big deal in the raw/selvedge denim community. I mean, here's an article called “How to cuff jeans: The 8 most common ways”! Personally I just use two: Double cuff: Hides the edge of the jeans. Easier to make narrow. Japanese Cuff: Shows off the edge - nice if it's chain stitched like this.

The black jeans above is double cuffed. The jeans on this picture normally has a Japanese cuff - which is why the double cuff is wider (I just cuffed it once more for the picture).

Single or double, full or half

In general, I don't like single cuffs. That's because I usually want to hide the edge, and that the cuff doesn't feel as secure. 

A shirt with a single cuff.


One more cuffs make it look much cleaner.

In the example above, I've folded the full width of the sleeve. Another option, is the half width double cuff: Half width double cuff. I prefer to either go full og half width, as something in between won't make it look as clean.

The buttons matter

Take a look at these sleeves: Two two sleeves of a shirt. They are cuffed, but one is wider than the other. The right one is wider than the left – and here's the reason: The right one has the last button open. Before cuffing, you can either have the last button closed or open. This affects the width and tightness of the cuff.

Here's an exception to my double cuffing:

The jacket is stiff enough, so the cuff feels ok, and it has details that looks cool: Rivets, threads of different colours, chain stitching, etc. The Japanese cuff on jeans is another exception (as it shows the edge as well). Two pictures of a denim jacket with a single cuff. I think it looks nice, as the sleeve has cool details, like rivets, chain stitch and different coloured threads.

Tips for clothing designers, and the problem with my new jacket

Before looking at the tiny problem with my jacket, let me say: it's an amazing garment, that gets so much right. So keep that in mind when I bring attention to this tiny detail that's not perfect:

It doesn't cuff quite right! 😱

Ok, se here's the sleeve un-cuffed. It's a Ventile jacket, so it's a good thing that it's a longer sleeve for when it's raining. A blue jacket sleeve from English Utopia. It has a flap with buttons to be able to tighten around, for instance, some gloves. Another good thing, is that I can use the flap and buttons to tighten it.

However, the thing that's amazing with the jacket being cotton (in addition to being waterproof), is that it breathes. This makes it better to use in warmer weather, and also makes it a jacket I want to use even if it doesn't rain. This, in addition to the reasons I mentioned at the start of the article, is why I want to be able to cuff it as well. Front and back with a single cuff. I start with a single fold. It has to be this wide to get beyond the button. Now, I could stop here – but we all know I prefer a double cuff. (BTW., notice how the fabric on the inside is slightly darker – cool detail that makes for more interesting cuffs!) Even with a double cuff, it doesn't look as clean. You can see a seam from the inside. But here we can see the reason why I said either full or half width when double cuffing: Due to the button, the fold was more than half the size, and so we get the visible seam.

Going for full width, would make the cuff too large, so then I tried to make the first fold on the other side of the button. That worked better: Some closer to a half width double cuff. But it's still not perfect, in my opinion. The button-side of the half width double cuff. It's too narrow for my taste, and it easily unfolds a bit, like on the picture here.

So, here's finally my tips for designers, from a cuff addict:

1) Think about the cuffability of your clothes

A great first step, is to at least think about it. Test different ways of cuffing your patterns!

2) What's on the inside counts (as well)

You can either go subtle, like with the slightly darker shade of blue on the jacket above. Or you can go for something a bit more extra, like this insane jacket my girlfriend has: A Type 2 denim jacket with a colourful pattern on the inside.

Look at the cuffs! (Also, sorry for the bad colours in the store...)


It even has the fabric on the inside of the pocket flaps and the thingys to tighten it on the side!


My black denim, pictured earlied, was black on the inside, while theses are white. Gives a very different look! (Also, notice: No selvedge on these.)

My favourite example ever of “caring about what's on the inside”, is this Hanami Selvege denim from Naked and Famous: The selvadge ID's are indigo and pink, with flowers on them. The entire inside of the denim is pink/purple. Another picture of the same jeans.

The jeans is laying on other jeans turned inside out - so that's what they look like on the inside. Bonkers! So, the tiny selvedge detail you see on the bottom, goes all the way up inside the jeans.

3) Mind the buttons

The buttons on the Ventile jacket created some problems – but shirts also has buttons that need attention. A shirt sleeve, showing the two buttons on the end that decides the tightness, as well as a third button on the arm. I like the idea of having the two buttons on the sleeve. But even though my wrists are pretty skinny, I've never been able to use the tighter option! (Have you?) Now, It's most aesthetically pleasing to have it on the widest option (like the picture – then you can see both buttons), so that might be why – but I'd still consider making them functional.

It's almost scary that these minute thoughts live in my mind all the time...

I mean, who cares this much about cuffs!?

Well, now you know a bit more of what it's like to walk around with this stupid head of mine. Oh, and about cuffs.

#Guides #GoodStuff

-Erlend ⚓ Spander en kaffi.