Fur coats sometimes need alterations to lengthen or shorten the sleeves. Like any part of the coat, the sleeves might receive damage that forces you to replace part of the fur sleeve with another strip of fur. Also, you may want the coat reduced to cut back on the amount of fur in your outfit. If you cut the sleeves off, you can make a vest. Alternatively, you could trim down the sleeves to make them shorter, while still allowing the fur coat to keep you warm.

Use a seam ripper to remove the hem from the fur coat.

Put the fur coat on. While wearing it, determine where you want the hem to be by folding the end of the fur to create a hem. Have a friend put pins in the hem to hold it together before you sew it.

Adjust the hem to make sure that it is even before adding the stitching.

Straight-stitch along the hem edge, 1/4 of an inch from the edge. Straight stitches are the most simplistic stitches. Simply pinch the fabric on top and poke the needle through the pinched fabric, passing through both layers of the hem. Use the needle to pull the thread through the hole. Stitch on the side opposite of the fur.

Use a sewing machine to create a zig-zag stitch to overcast the edge. The overcast stitch is along the edge of the hem, designed to protect the raw edge.

Locate the seams. They are the part of the fabric that was stitched with thread.

Remove the stitches from the seams with a seam ripper by digging into the thread and tugging at it.

Stitch the seams back together closer to the raw edges of the fabric to make the sleeves more loose. You can also remove the entire sleeve by using a seam ripper, allowing you to create a vest version of the fur coat.

Pull the fur fibers apart where you intend to remove part of the sleeve

Cut the fabric beneath the fur, instead of cutting the fur itself.

Hem the rough edge where you cut the sleeve.