Sleeves On Saturdays

I did not do a post last Saturday for Sleeves On Saturdays, but I need to as this is the shirt for this week's Sew News collar post and I redrafted the sleeves into these little puffed sleeves. When I went through my fabric closet and came across this fabric, I thought to myself that I just had to use it as it's pink and orange!!! just like my coat and pink shoes that I wore to church on Sunday. Pink and orange are pretty nice together after all!

In case you are wondering, we are using this Butterick pattern for the collar posts. It's Butterick 5678.

The little puffed sleeves are so very simple to do and I'm sure that many of you know how to draft them, but in the off chance that you do not...here's how.

Begin with the long sleeve pattern piece or any straight, long sleeve pattern.

Determine how long you would like for your sleeve to be. Mine is 3" long. Square a line across the sleeve at the 3" mark as you see above.

On either side of the center of the pattern, divide into equal sections. As you can see in the picture above, the area past the notches is not divided.  

Draw a vertical line on a new piece of paper.

Cut the sections on the sleeve being careful to not cut through the cap. I have a 1" spread between each section. If your fabric is a very light weight fabric, you can spread even more if you like.

At the center of the sleeve, measure down 1".

Draw a smooth line back to the outer edges of the sleeve as you see above. The 1" is added to give the puffed area the roundness when it sits on the arm. Without this, it will sit flat against the arm.

When I draft a sleeve or anything for that matter from a commercial pattern, I always remove the seam allowances prior to drafting. Once I have finished my project, I then add the seam allowances back. For me, this helps me not to get confused about where there is seam allowance and where it needs to be added. So be sure to add seam allowance to your final pattern. Transfer the notches. The vertical line that we drew on the paper prior to spreading the sleeve will now become the grainline. 

I added a small band to the bottom of the sleeve. Measure around your arm and add at least a 1/2" for ease. The width is your choice. Be sure to add seam allowance!

 For the front closure, I left spaces in the center front seam.

I will be doing a tutorial on this tomorrow, so pop back by!
As soon as the post for the collar is up on the Sew News blog, I will let you know.
Have a wonderful day!
Rhonda