There are many seemingly different methods to draft a basic sleeve block. Although the practical aspects (steps, procedures) may differ, the objectives of each step is constant, no matter the how. But admittedly, some methods are easier to follow than others. Old school tailors and dressmakers would take only 2 or 3 measurement points and rely on instinct to draw out the sleeve cap and armscye, free-handing the curves about as often as they use French curves. The cutters on Savile Row all do it that way still, and I read somewhere that straight/square rulers are off limits to the apprentice cutter because nowhere on the human body is to be found a right angle! But of course, it takes years to go from apprentice to pro on The Row. We, (un)fortunately, only have a post or 2.

So here goes... This method is adapted from vintagesewing.info (wonderful free resource) but re-processed in more straightforward language and I've modified one or 2 things which I've found make very little difference one way or the other. I chose it because it has proved a good method with very satisfactory results. It will draft a straight, long sleeve. From this, you can shorten it to 3-quarter, half, or any length you want. The procedure will seem lengthy at first, but don't be put off by this. And there is a neat summary at the end for easy reference.

Required measurements:

1. Bicep circumference (typically around the arm adjacent to the armpit, but if the widest circ. is elsewhere on the upper arm, take that measurement instead)

2. Overarm length (from shoulder point to wrist, arm slightly bent) 3. Underarm length (from arm pit to wrist)4. Wrist circ.

Drafting:

Step1 - take a piece of paper, sufficiently large, and fold it in half, lengthwise.

Step 1

Step 2 - measure and mark out the over arm length on the fold of the paper. Label the top mark A and the bottom mark B.

Step 2

Step 3 - from point B, measure towards point A, the underarm length and mark this C on the fold.

Step 3

Step 4 - add 1" ease to the bicep circ. measurement and divide the answer by 2. [ (Bicep+1) / 2 ]

Step 5 - from point C, draw, towards the left, a horizontal line equal to the no. derived in Step 4. Mark the end point D.

Step 5

Step 6 - add 0.5" ease to the wrist circ. measurement and divide the answer by 2. [ (Wrist+0.5) / 2 ]

Step 7 - from point B, draw, towards the left, a horizontal line equal to the no. derived in Step 6. Mark the end point J.

Step 7

Step 8 - open up the paper (unfold it). From point C, draw, towards the right, another horizontal line equal to the no. derived in Step 4. Mark the end point E. The bicep line is now complete.

Step 9 - from point B, draw, towards the right, another horizontal line equal to the no. derived in Step 6. Mark the end point K. The wrist line is now complete.

Steps 8 & 9

Step 10 - draw a line from point A to point B to mark out the over arm length marked out earlier. This line will also function as the grain line.

Step 10

Summary so far

Step 11 - connect points D and J, E and K.

Step 11

Step 12 - divide line DC into 4 equal segments. Mark the first point F. [ DF = 1/4 DC ]

Step 12

Step 13 - divide line CE into 8 equal segments. Mark the last point G. [ GE = 1/8 CE ]

Step 13

Step 14 - add the lengths of DF and GE. From point A, draw, towards the right, a horizontal line equal to DF+GE. Mark the end point H. [ AH = DF + GE ]

Step 14

Step 15 - multiply the length of DF by 2. From point A, draw, towards the left, a horizontal line equal to 2DF. Mark the end point L. [ AL = 2DF ]

Step 15

Step 16 - connect the points F and L.

Step 16

Step 17 - mark a point, 1, on line FL, equal to the length DF. [F1 = DF]

Step 17

Step 18 - connect the points G and H.

Step 18

Step 19 - from G, mark a point, 2, on line GH, equal to the length of GE. [G2 = GE]

Step 19

Step 20 - from H, mark a point, 3, on line GH, equal to the length of AH. [ H3 = AH ]

Step 20

Step 21 - using a French Curve, draw a smooth curve from point A to 1, then 1 to D. On the other side, A to 3, then 2 to E.

Step 21

Summary of Steps 2 - 21:

AB = over arm length BC = underarm length DE = bicep + ease Point C = midpoint of DE JK = wrist + ease DF = 1/4 DC GE = 1/8 CE AH = DF + GE AL = 2DF F1 = DF G2 = GE H3 = AH

Step 22 - mark the left half of the pattern 'Front', the right half 'Back'. The front has a curvier sleeve cap, the back sleeve cap is less curved.

Step 22

Step 23 - measure the front cap from point D to point A, and then the back cap from point A to E. Compare to the front and back armscye on the bodice. The front sleeve cap must ideally be up to 0.5" (max.) bigger than the front armscye. Same for the back cap and armscye. You can increase or decrease the sleeve cap measurement as shown below. The total length of the sleeve cap should be anywhere between 0.5" to 1" (max.) bigger than the total armscye measurement of the main bodice block (sloper).

Measure

Red lines = increaseBlue lines = decrease

An important point to note:

The drafting of the armscye curves on the sleeve is rather arbitrary. There really are no hard and fast rules/formulae to developing the one with the best fit. The previous steps simply aid you towards drawing a front scye that will accommodate the forward-jutting ball joint the shoulder, and a slopier one for the back. You must constantly measure and remeasure both the scyes on the bodice and the sleeve to ensure the ease differences as explained in Step 23.

Finally, you'll want to adapt the long sleeve block for a short sleeve. This is very easy to do. First, measure down from the centre of the bicep line the length of the short sleeve desired. In the example below, this length is 1.5".

Shortened to 1.5" below bicep line

You can also choose to measure from the top of the sleeve cap down along the centre line to a point where you'd like the sleeve to end.

Then draw a line, perpendicular to the centre line (or parallel to the bicep line), across the width of the sleeve.

Cut away the pattern below this line and you have your shortened sleeve.

Cut along the new hemline

A short sleeve!

Simple, right?

And that's basically how you draft a basic sleeve block. Just like a body sloper, you can adapt this block to create different types of sleeves, a few of which I will show you how to in another post. Coming up next - solving fitting issues with sleeves.

When I trace out my sleeve block onto fabric, I like to include the centre and bicep lines, as points of reference when I check for fit. A good fit on the sleeves should locate these 2 lines where you'd like them to lie, following the line of the upper arm (centre line) and parallel to the bicep (bicep line).

Good alignment

Rubbish - but see where the centre line should

lie

If the centre line does not follow the line of the upper arm, this could be due to either of the following reasons (usually!):

1. too much width in the draft of the sleeve below the bicep line, resulting in too much fabric below the armpit and a flappy sleeve.

2. too much ease in the bicep measurement, causing the sleeve be - er - flappy and listless.

If the reason is no. 1: reduce the width of the sleeve below the armpit by pinching out the excess fabric. Like so:

Pinch out only about 0.25" at a time. Do this with the arm raised to ensure you do not pinch out too much causing the sleeve to be too tight across the upper arm when the arm is raised. Check to see if the centre line has been adequately realigned. If it is still misaligned, then assume that the reason is no. 2.

If it is aligned, then measure the amount you have pinched/pinned out at the sleeve opening (only on one side). Redraw the sleeve block, reducing the total width of the opening by the same measurement (say 0.5") on BOTH sides.

If the reason is no. 2:just redraft the sleeve block with a reduction of 0.25" (at a time) on either side of the bicep line. Measure again the lengths of each armscye to ensure that there is some ease (up to 0.5") on each scye. (see Steps 22 and 23 in

previous post).

Sew up the new sleeve block and attach to the bodice. Check the centre alignment. If it is still off a little, then reduce the ease again by another 0.25" (1/4") on both ends, as above, and try again.

If you are not sure if it is no. 1 or 2:try no. 1 first because it is a simpler fix compared to 2. That is not to say that you can always do no. 1 as an easy way out of the problem!

Disclaimer:The 2 reasons described above aren't the only ones to fix a misaligned centre line. But I've found that they are the commonest when fitting a child's

sleeve because small children's arms are much less defined with muscle/bulk.

The Importance of Sufficient Ease

There are 2 areas of the sleeve where ease is necessary - at the bicep and on the sleeve cap.

Let's discuss the bicep ease first. Remember that there really should be a bicep ease of at least 0.5" total. Otherwise, you will find the sleeve very tight across the bicep when the arm is raised.

If however, you've drafted the armscye on the sleeve block lower than the depth of scye by 1" (that is, an ease of 1" in the depth of scye), then you really should draft the bicep on the sleeve with a 1" ease total.

If you lower the depth of scye even more (let's say 2"), then add ease to the bicep by the same amount.

After this, redraw the seam on the upper arm to curve in until a point somewhere in the middle of the upper arm.

Sometimes it won't look and feel too tight when the arms are hanging down by the side. But when the arm is raised, the problem is much more obvious, and very uncomfortable. The fabric pulls at the armpit and wrinkles form at there.

looks sort of okay when arms are down...

...but look what happens when arms are raised.

To reduce and eliminate the wrinkles, redraft the sleeve, adding more ease to the bicep (0.25" at a time) on either side, as described above. To prevent yourself always redrafting as you work out the sufficient amount of ease to add on, make sure you cut a big seam allowance (about 1" width) for the entire sleeve. Then it's only a matter of removing the sleeve and redoing the underarm seam to accommodate the additional ease to the bicep.

blue lines = new underarm seamline (sewing line)

Now let's move on to the sleeve cap ease. Ease at the cap allow the fabric to lie smoothly and comfortable over the rounded part of the arm which makes up the shoulder/arm ball and socket joint. On adults, sometimes accommodation must be made for the presence of muscle development there as well, so more than normal ease should be added. On children, however, you have a relatively simple task of just adding enough ease to fit nicely over the ball joint. As mentioned in the earlier post, for a standard set-in sleeve, the amount of ease should really be no more than 1" maximum, divided (unequally is ok) between the front and back sleeve cap.

If there is insufficient ease, the fabric at the cap will strain over the ball joint (black arrows), causing the sleeve to ride up the arm and create wrinkles running upwards from the underarm seam (blue arrows).

In the picture above, the problem occurs only at the back cap. A mirror result will develop if there is insufficient ease in the front cap. To create a smoother fit over the ball joint and reduce or eliminate the wrinkles, redraw the sleeve cap for more ease where the problem mainly is ,front or back (red lines).

In the process of working out the best amount of ease, there might very well be a lot of doing and undoing, forwarding and backwarding. This is normal. But please don't be deterred. Just keep at it and the satisfaction you get when it turns out just right is quite worth it...because it will fit well and wear comfortably!

To me, necklines are the unsung heroes in drafting and clothing design. A neckline is a very simple thing to change up, and each modification can very dramatically, or subtly, create a whole new look to the same dress/blouse pattern. As I said, a neckline is a very easy thing to change. You just draw a new style line, literally. Following from the sloper draft shown by LiEr in the early posts, your basic bodice block has a round-neck, or jewel, neckline. You can change this to any number of different necklines by the end of this tutorial, I think!

But before we talk about how to change a neckline, I need to explain to you about facings. A neckline facing is a piece of fabric that is sewn to neckline edge in order to retain the shape and to create a neat finish at the neckline. There are other ways to finish the neckline edge, like binding and overlocking (as a decorative element also). But to me, using a facing guarantees a very clean finish and neckline shape.

How to make a facing

1. On the front bodice pattern, draw a line, following the shape of the neckline, about 1.5" to 2" wide of the original neckline.

2. Do the same on the back bodice.

3. There you have your facing pattern. Trace onto another piece of paper and cut out the facing.

4. When cutting out the facing from fabric, add a seam allowance on the neckline and shoulder seams exactly the same amount as on the bodice neckline and bodice shoulder seams. There is no need to add seam allowance to the bottom of the facing. Just serge or overlock with a zig-zag stitch to contain the raw edge there.

7. When making up the facing, attach the facing pieces at the shoulder seams first, before attaching the facing to the bodice neckline.

8. If you intend the dress/blouse to be sleeveless, then you should bring the shoulder point in by about 3/8" (before making the facing). Redraw the armscye.*

*Note- you need to bring in the shoulder point to accommodate a sleeveless blouse/dress so that the garment hangs properly on your shoulders. Have you ever tried to hang a sleeveless dress or blouse on a hanger that doesn't stick out far enough beyond the armholes? The dress or blouse tends to slide off the hanger on one side doesn't it? This is because there isn't enough width on the hanger to properly balance the weight of the garment pulling down from the hanger. This very same principle applies when wearing a garment that is even just slightly too wide for your shoulders. The garment will pull down more on one shoulder than the other. Theoretically, a custom-drafted shoulder width on your sloper shouldn't be too wide, but based on the hanger principle, your true shoulder width (between the two shoulder points) isn't wide enough to balance the weight of the garment hanging from your shoulders. Since you can't increase your shoulder width without going for extensive surgery, it only makes sense that you should therefore reduce the shoulder length on the garment itself. This problem doesn't occur in a sleeved garment because the sleeves themselves act as balancing counter-weights, pulling the garment down from both shoulder points as well as from the lengths of the shoulders. So why don't we just draft the sleeved sloper with an already-reduced shoulder length, you ask? We don't because then the garment will look obviously too narrow across the upper chest, with sleeves that will look like it is straining over the ball of your shoulders and also pulling the fabric horizontally in both directions across the upper chest.

9. You then incorporate an armscye facing with the neck facing to create a single facing which will accommodate both the sleeveless armscye and the

neckline. 10. Do the same for the back.

11. Add seam allowances (SA) to the facings as described above. Also add SA to the armscye as well. Now let's move on to drafting various necklines.

Boat-neck

1. On the front sloper, mark a point about 1" up from the shoulder point on the shoulder seam.

2. From this point, draw a gentle curve to meet with the CF point of the neckline.

3. On the back bodice, mark a point about 1" up from the shoulder point on the shoulder seam. Then mark a point 1" (or less or more, depending on your design) down from the jewel neckline on the CB. Connect the 2 points with a gentle curve.

4. Make the facing for the front (and back), following the line of the boat neck. Remember to double up at CF for the front and make 2 separate pieces for the back. Add the SA to the facings.

5. If you intend the dress/blouse to be sleeveless, then you should bring the shoulder point in by about 3/8" (before making the facing).

6. From this point, draw a smooth curve to a point about two-thirds of the way down, on the armscye. Do the same for the back.

7. Make a single facing for the neckline and armscye.

V-neck

1. On the front sloper, mark a point about 1.5" down from the bottom of the neckline at the centre front (CF).

2. Next, measure and mark a point 3/8"-1/2" down from the side neck point.

3. Connect the 2 points.

Note: if you skip step 2, you might end up with a line that cuts across the original jewel line......creating a very tight fit at that point around the neck, and make a mess of the fit on the upper torso. So please move the side neck point (step 2) when drafting a v-neck. You can reduce the distance to 1/4" at a time if you prefer.

4. Cut out the new neckline.

5. Draw in the facing.

6. The back neckline can remain as a jewel neckline or you can make a V-neck similar to the front, or with a longer/shorter depth at centre back (CB). Make the back facing in the same way but in 2 pieces to accommodate a CB opening.

Tank

1. Move the shoulder point in 3/8" and redraw the armscye.

2. From the new shoulder point, mark a point 1" (or less/more depending on your design) up on the shoulder seam.

3. Mark a point 2" (or less/more) from the bottom of the jewel neckline on the CF. Draw a reference line across the bodice from this point.

4. From the point marked in step 2, you can either draw a vertical line (A) straight down or an angled one (B) to meet with the reference line. The angle of the line depends on your own taste/preference/design.

5. Curve out the corner created.

6. Make a facing by drawing a horizontal line straight across the front bodice, about 2 inches below the bottom of the armscye.

7. Repeat all steps for the back. You can increase or decrease the back neckline depth according to preference.

Do you see a duplicatable pattern emerging?

You can really create a LOT of different necklines quickly and with very little fuss. To me, the facings are the key. Yes, binding the raw edges work, but you won't get a sharp, clean finish if you want more interesting shapes to your neckline.

Like these, for example:

So go forth... etc, etc,... ok?

LiEr has also included a few tips about neckline fitting which are indeed very useful. I tend to rip everything apart and start over but I don't recommend being OCD to get it right. It's quite misery-making sometimes.

Here's LiEr...

A small sewing tip: There are times when, despite your best efforts to stay-stitch unfaced necklines (eee, I disprefer), understitch facings, or otherwise stabilize your necklines, you might find that your necklines gape a little. This could be the result of several factors including but not limited to

original sloper draft was too roomy in the upper chest neckline was cut too low and/or too wide for your particular body

shape/degree of endowment

too much messing about with the neckline prior to facing it general bad luck, poor room fengshui or someone hexed your sewing

space

There are many ways to cure this, including burning the garment and starting over and taking in the shoulder seams (but this means possibly adjusting many other places as well, like darts, armscye, waist etc). If the gape in the neckline is small, a quick fix is pintucks. I've used this with a recent scoop neckline that ended up needing to be taken in by 1/2". It was not a lot, but too much to be left unchanged. So instead of making a huge 1/4' wide dart in the middle and sticking a hideous applique over it, I split it into 4 evenly-spaced pintucks and made a design of it. I'll show a photo of it at some point in some post to come!

My goal with the sleeves was to make them as puffy as possible. I started with the actual sleeve pattern from the tunic, and made it almost twice as wide and a bit taller (basically figure 2 below).

everything you could ever want to know about drafting sleeve patterns, from vintagesewing.info

This is the part where I realized I didn’t quite have enough fabric (who knew 3 yards wouldn’t be enough…). So I had to cut the sleeves in two pieces, with a seam running down the outer arm. Fortunately it’s hardly noticeable with all the puff.

To make the sleeve puff, I gathered the top edge of the sleeve, and sewed it into the dress. Then I made a wide hem at the bottom, leaving an inch or two open at the underarm seam. I threaded elastic through the hem and tied it off at approximately the length to fit comfortably around my arm.