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Saturday, February 14, 2015

Sleeves On Saturdays

Last night I had the opportunity to talk to the Chicago Chapter of the American Sewing Guild. What a great group pf ladies! My program was on drafting sleeves. I was told to plan on a 30 minute talk, but the talk went on for an hour!!! Hopefully I didn't wear out my welcome :), but they seemed to enjoy the evening as much as I did. I hope so anyway. As I drove home last night, I thought about the fact that there are a number of new followers to the blog....welcome!!! So I thought I would showcase of few of my favorite sleeve posts.
When I was in design school, I found a drafting book devoted to sleeves. I was in love! Since then, I have had a passion for sleeve drafting.
So first up is a coat that I actually drafted when I was in school....yikes!!!, 30 years ago!!! I made a joke last night about having clothes that I have made that are now vintage. Oh well, I love the coat, and yes, I still wear it. I'm actually thinking about making some separates to wear with it and put it in this year's Haute Couture Fashion Show. The title of the show is Through The Looking Glass and the focus is on Alice's journey through Wonderland, so I think this will fit into the theme. 
Next, The Twisted Petal Sleeve.
This sleeve is actually a play on the traditional petal sleeve. You can see the finished garment HERE.
When I initially did this sleeve, I didn't give it a name, so I thought I would call it the Floating In Pleats Sleeve. The top for the above sleeve and the dress below were actually done for posts I did for Sew News on collar drafting. Take note that the sleeve actually follows the curve of the princess line. Very feminine.
All Points South Sleeve  This is a very easy sleeve to draft. Be sure to take a looking at the drafting photos to see just how easy it is.
The Bending Willow Sleeve looks rather strange when it's laid out flat, but drapes beautifully on the arm.
Watch Me As I Walk Away Sleeve This sleeve looks rather complicated to draft, but just follow the instructions and it will work out perfectly. This is a great sleeve to use for color blocking.
The Gathered Keyhole Sleeve I'll be honest, this sleeve is a little tricky to draft, but it's such fun, so I think it's worth the effort.
                          
The Pleated Epaulet Sleeve  This sleeve gives the shoulder a very squared look. It looks great in a t-shirt as well as a jacket or coat.
The Rounded Square Shoulder Sleeve  is one of my favorite sleeves. Very easy to draft and it opens itself to lots of design possibilities.You can see a picture of me in the sleeve HERE.
 The Cowl Draped Sleeve is a lovely sleeve that looks great with a cowl neck blouse or dress.
So this is just a sample of some of the sleeves we've done on Saturdays. Click on the links above to see the drafting instructions. You can also go to my Sleeves On Saturdays Pinterest page.
To all who have been around for a long time, thanks for all of your support and to those who are new, I hope you'll find lots of inspiration and maybe give a little pattern drafting a try.
Happy Valentine's Day!!!
Rhonda



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17 comments:

  1. I was at this presentation, and I have to admit that I had no idea that there were so many beautiful options for designing a sleeve. The execution of each garment was superlative - far better than anything you could ever hope to purchase in a store. Rhonda's got some amazing skills, and a ton of creativity!

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    1. Thanks so much Janice :) It was truly my pleasure to meet you!

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  2. I love that All Points South Sleeve. I would love to have that in a winter coat and your help in drafting certainly makes it not only possible but easy too. Thanks.

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    1. If you do make up the sleeve, and you have a chance, I would love to see a picture. Let me know if you have any questions.

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  3. Thanks, Rhonda, for sharing these inspiring sleeve techniques. I am quite smitten with The Twisted Petal Sleeve. It looks like the perfect complement to a flirty spring top. I'm pinning this image right now!

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  4. Great ideas to try in exchange for the plain set in sleeve. These sleeves can take an outfit from humdrum to exciting. Thanks for posting the drafting instructions too.

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  5. I so wish I could have been there for your lecture. These sleeves are all so inspirational. Thanks, Rhonda, for all you share.

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  6. I wish I would have more time to try at least some of those sleeves. The cowl draped sleeve is so pretty.

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  7. Rhonda you are so generous and creative. I have some blouses to refashion and some of these sleeve designs would work. Thank you

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  8. I enjoyed readin all your sleeve posts . wonder where my earlier comment disappeared ..

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  9. Terrifically interesting! I'd be fascinated to see each of the pattern pieces for these sleeves. Thank you!

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    1. If you click on the highlighted name of each sleeve, it will take you to the post where I demonstrate how to draft each sleeve. At the end of each post is a final pattern.

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  10. What talent! Those sleeves are beautiful, interesting and couture! Thanks for such a beautiful and inspiring post.

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  11. You really need to publish a book on these sleeve designs. I am sure it would be very popular, they are so nice and your tutorials are brilliant and explain things really well. I would buy one in a heartbeat. They would really take people skills up several levels compared to most of the new sewing books out there. Xx

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    1. That is exactly what I want to do. My problem has been in finding a publisher. Maybe I need to just go ahead and self publish the book.

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  12. Hi Rhonda, I'd live for you to cover this sleeve: http://moldesdicasmoda.com/detalhes-de-modelacao-29/

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  13. I meant this: http://pin.it/IxutGjG

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