Draping A Sleeve

I think I finally conquered my nemesis: The Sleeve. It has always been the thing that confused/exasperated me. But it also did me one huge favor in the past, because it led me to find my pattern guru Kathleen Fasanella.

I’m not good at math, so when I tried drafting a sleeve it just didn’t fit. It could also have something to do with my measurements being wrong; I’m not good at them either. So until I can have Kathleen fly out here, I will have to make do with whatever method that will work. Which turns out to be draping. (Her visit will include bribes- I’m thinking Japanese bookstores, custom fit clogs, and a visit to Mr Pleater Man, Warren, at A 1 Pleating.)

Kathleen just did a post on walking a pattern (she’s in the middle of learning CAD software), and I think that’s how I got this idea. I needed to “walk” the armhole. With a piece of fabric. I actually did a trace of the armhole in the flat first, but in all my excitement forgot to take a picture. And that trace didn’t work all that well anyway, so this is how I ended up doing it, front and back separately:

Then I drew a sort of mirror image of the curve.

Pinned the fabric to the armhole seam line to just where the curve turns more sharply inwards, and traced.

And this is how it looks after cutting along the marked line. See those pinch marks in the fabric? I placed some pins to sort of shape the curve before I removed it from the armhole

I did the same for the back, and then cut the sleeve cap with a good amount of SA. After pinning and trying on, moving pins, trying on some more, this is how the sleeve cap looked:

Back Front

But I wasn’t done yet. After pinning it again, I noticed the blouse was bunching a bit at the underarm, and also the back sleeve had a diagonal fold from shoulder to back. After quite a lot more fiddling, I cut another sleeve, below is a photo without SA.

Back Front

It fits pretty good, and since the muslin is starting to get tired (oh yes absolutely the muslin, not me :-0) I went on to make a pattern for the actual sleeve I will be using: A short sleeve lapped across the top of the arm with the underarm seam eliminated. (From “Dress Design, Draping And Flat Pattern Making”)

Sleeve pinned to blouse

This blouse is about more than draping; it’s an exercise in “how to use the fabric available without compromising style and fit.” Wish it was as easy as it sounds...