arm warmers -- on the cheap

Last Saturday when I set out on my ride, I decided I needed a pair of arm warmers. 
Immediately. 

I didn't want to go to the bike shop and pay $30, so I dug in the bag of clothes on their way to Goodwill and retrived an old fitness jacket, made of Reebok "Play Dri" fabric (a sort of mesh weave.) I cut off the sleeves and tried them on. It turned out the cuff part fit snugly on my upper arm, so I decided to use that end as the top. 

I had to make the bottom part of the sleeves narrower, so I began by measuring my wrist and forearm. I then turned the sleeves inside out and marked the fabric at the correct widths along the length of the sleeve. I sewed a seam inside the existing seam. I should have basted first, because my first try ended up too narrow and I had to rip out the seam and stitch again about 5 mm outside the first stitching line. This time, the fit was perfect, so I used the first sleeve as a guide to mark the second sleeve. 

Voila! Free arm warmers! They would probably be even better with a little spandex in the fabric, but they are fine as they are, and they did the trick, keeping my arms warm for the first part of my ride. When I decided I didn't need them anymore, I removed them and tucked them in the back pockets of my jersey. I wore them again one afternoon on my way from work -- again removing them about halfway along my route.