My Favorite Flannel Cuff- Tutorial

Welcome! Today I'm participating in a crafting relay that was coordinated by the fabulous Stina Glaas of Sagolikt Pyssel. I'd love to have you all check out the tutorial below and then for the rest of the goodness check out the relay schedule here.


The weather's turning a bit colder and the air's a bit brisker, tell tale signs that fall has begun. For me this means warm apple cider, evening's by the fire, and flannels. I love the cosy feeling a really worn out flannel bestows on it's wearer; there's nothing else like it. After 15 years of wear I've decided it's time to retire my favorite flannel from daily use. It's worn too thin, and the buttons are barely attached- and the death knell- it's no longer comfy. I only keep it around because of the associations I have of it- the flannel was originally my grandfather's. So as a tribute of sorts I decided to upcycle it to create this fabric cuff. It pairs my beloved flannel with my other favorite material, a t-shirt knit, and to finish it off I've added a bit of lace. This is the type of lace my mom always used on my clothes when I was a little girl so wearing this cuff, with this lace, gives me that fairy tale princess feeling I had as a child. I love this cuff- truly- and I'm hoping this tutorial will inspire you to recreate something fabulous with your old favorites as well. Enjoy!
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My Favorite Flannel Cuff Tutorial

Tools and Materials
A favorite piece of worn out clothing
2 strips of a coordinating knit fabric
Decorative elements such as lace, old buttons, etc.
Glass of hot coffee or tea (optional)
Embroidery Floss in 2-3 colors (one to contrast, a couple to coordinate)
Needle
Scissors
Crop-a-dile with grommets
14" length of ribbon

Step One: Cut a strip of knit fabric 7 1/2"w x 2 3/4"h. Cut a second strip of knit that's 6 1/2"w x 1 7/8"h. Stack smaller on top of the larger. Check the size by wrapping it around your wrist. These measurements are for a medium sized wrist so adjust larger or smaller as necessary.

Step Two: This step is optional, but what I did was stick my knit fabric and the lace I planned on using into a glass of hot coffee. I pulled it out pretty quickly so that there's only a slight staining. I was told that using tea was better if you don't like the coffee smell as it lingers. I also used Staz-on ink with a text stamp to add some texture to the knit.

Step Three: Stitch your two pieces of knit together with embroidery floss. Cut a strip from the front button panel of your flannel shirt approx. 5 3/4"w. x. 1 1/4"h. Stitch on top of knit fabrics.

Step Four: Fold under the right edge of your lace fabric about an 1/4" from edge. With your needle and embroidery floss place a couple stitches to hold this fold. Then holding the top edge of your lace beneath the bottom length of your cuff and stitch to cuff.

Step Five: Cut a small strip of knit fabric that is roughly the same height of your cuff. Hold beneath edge of cuff. Using your Crop-a-dile, punch two holes through both layers of fabric, and along the far right edge of your cuff. Place so that you have about a 1/2" of allowance both above the top hole and beneath the bottom hole. Then holding the small strip of fabric in place, use your Crop-a-dile again to add the grommets and secure the two pieces together. Adding this extra layer reinforces the top fabric so that the grommet will hold it's place and not pull right out of the knit.

Step Six: Wrap cuff around your wrist, overlapping the ends so that the right edge of your cuff lies over your left edge and then using a pen make a mark through grommet holes. Then using your Crop-a-dile create small holes at each of these two marks. If you don't have a Crop-a-dile you can cut these holes with a scissor and add the grommets the old fashioned way. This is just much simpler. :)

Step Seven: Thread your length of ribbon through these holes from the bottom side of the cuff. Pull til ends are of even length and then using your needle and floss, stitch the ribbon to the cuff between the two holes.

Step Eight: Pull the ribbon up through the grommets and then tie in a bow to secure. I designed this to be the bottom of the cuff and have left extra ribbon to dangle, but it can be worn as the top of the cuff- it's so pretty. To finish the cuff I did stitch some old shell buttons between the shirt buttons for some decorative contrast. You may decide to add other decorative elements such as a bit of old jewelry, old ribbon, or maybe a quote printed onto fabric. How you embellish your cuff is up to you but make it special and meaningful- then it's guaranteed to be your new favorite. :)

The finished cuff!

Be Sure and Check out tomorrow's tutorial at To Live Just in Time!!!