Bespoke Cutter And Tailor

How to Draft a Sleeve for an Armhole with the Deepest Part at 1/3 of Armholediameter

Before I start, have in mind a sleeve (cap) is always a compromise between looking good and comfortable.
The armhole should be large enough – but not too large and have a fine closed fit around the body  – no gaping
First of all I show you different armholes:

sleeve0.png

These are for the same person and all garments are fitting

So every time first the armhole then the sleeve. I have choosen an armhole from my work. (It is not a lovely size 38!)
You lay your pattern front to back this way:

sleeve1b.png

Beware NO SEW ALLLOWANCE and deepest point is here side seam.

You measure:
the front circ, the back circ and the armhole height just in the center of the connecting line right down to the deepest point of armsyce. (You measure the curves with the standing up measure tape - not flat on the table).

And you measure the distance from sideseam to the notches . Fill it in the table (The colored numbers are  the variables).

sleeve 3a.png

For cap height I choose 83% of Armhole height (You can choose between 75% - 85% for fitted gaments).
Or rule of thumb: 1/3 of the armhole circ for this kind of garment.
This cap height allows a rel. small ease and gives a reasonable width and a bit of rope.
From the front and back circ you take 95%. You choose the ease. It depends on the fabric 3 cm is good here (it is only 5 % of armhole circ - I have a sturdy demin for the jacket).  For a nice wool you can choose 10-12 %  or more. You part the ease  25% goes into front and 75 % in the back. You do your math. The biceps is measured and you add the ease you need. Ladies in the bigger sizes and developed overarms need more ease- maybe 5 cm for a jacket or coat. You must try it out.
End part 1

Thank you so much posaune.  What a great bit of writing to think about.

part 2
Drafting the Scaffold

Do a horizontal line longer than biceps + ease and around center draft a line up with the cap height.
Do a circ with your calculated front length (red; B) from A and a circ with your calculated back circ (green; C).

sleeve3b.png


Please measure from B to C. This must have your biceps + ease. This draft has about 43,77 cm – okay.  Now do the horizontal line touching Point A with the 1/3 of the distance B to C (43.77/3 = 14,6). We part it that 2/5 is in front then Point A and 3 /5 in back because or Armhole is so splitted.
(If you do not have that width - you must change a parameter, must go down with the cap height or accept more ease - or alter the armhole a bit. But I speak later about this.)

sleeve4.png
Now you add the sleeve length from point A down and you do an rectangle.

We need more landmarks to be able to draft the cap. We mark in front (B-A) and back (C-A)  2/5 of its length. Now you draft 2 lines (green) going through each 2/5 points down.

sleeve5.png

The last pic let you draw right angles up till they meet the corners. You part the right angles at the top in halfes.

sleeve6.png
And you mark 1/3 in the lower red part. At the 1/3 marking you add a little circ with 0.8 cm + 10% Ease (+ 0.3 ) and at back with 0.7 cm + 10% Ease ( + 0.3). This will help you with the curve's form .

end part 2

I like this, it is something I am going to try out using  one of my existing patterns and compare the shape to the standard process I use.
I think I will also cut a toile to see how it looks.
Very interesting.

Is this your standard way of sleeve drafting or just one you use because it offers something different than another draft method?

Hi Terri, yes it is a nice  (and easy) draft and very versatile. In changing some variables you can get sleeves for all kind of armholes. The process stays the same. And you see right at the beginning will the sleeve fit the biceps width. I came across searching for a good sleeve for T-shirts. (I do not believe in the same curve for front and back cap).  I then found from the same author Guido Hofenbitzer in another book this method extended to other sleeve types. I simplified it a bit. And from then on I use this sleeve.
Part 3

Now start to draw the sleeve cap curve. There  is no iron cast law, just try to be near the marks. The result should look like a nice curve with no corners and bubbles.

sleeve7.png


To achieve this you draft the cap like this (but if you look close at the pic the part where it should be straight is too round. Especially the back. It must be cleaned up).
(B) curved – straight - curved  - nearly straight at top a bit (A) – curved – straight - curved (C) .

Measure the curve. The whole ,,circ" measures 61.6 (the armhole had 58.8) so the ease is 3.2 cm. If you want, I can show later how to part with not wanted ease if your ease is too much.
Now set in the notches and finish the sleeve.

The Notches

You lay the sleeve pattern to the bodice pattern like shown. There is no ease at Point B till to the notch. You can copy the curve from the front armhole.

sleeve8.png

In the back there is already ease in the lower part of the crown so you draft the notch in the sleeve 1/5 of the ease higher (here 0.5cm). The curve will NOT resemble the back curve of the bodice like the front.

Here zoomed in
sleeve8b.png

When you draft a sleeve for a man you can keep this curve more shallower because of the muscles there.

End part 3

Thank you Posaune for sharing this! I Will definitively try it.
Do you take into account the upper front armhole stretching and the back armhole shrinking in the drafting?

@Terri: Dennic Chunman Lo is another reference for this method. But not so mathematical
@Gramountoto: No, I did not. But I think, it is not necessary because you measure seam line of the fitted armhole. There you would have done the stretching in beck and holding in at back.
Part 4
Distribution of the Ease

At first the armhole must be prepared.
sleeve11b.png

You see I have parted the upper parts of the armhole in half and done markings and measured the distances.
Another table

sleeve11btab1.png
This is very mathematical.  You can use a rule of thumb as well:

example here 3 cm ease
sleeve11btab2.png

Mark the sleeve cap:


sleeve12a.png

End part 4

I really like this method, it seems to be very precise. Thank You for sharing it!

I love it, thank you posaune.

Part 5
Set in the Sleeve for beginners
I show you here my way. It works for me. There are several others. You must do it how it is easiest for you.
I think this ease is alright for my demin and I can ease this in. I mark the pattern of my armhole with little snips or tailor's tacks. I do the same with the sleeve cap.
Now I start  with pinning. Wrong side up of jacket and I look into armhole and the sleeve. The sleeve is pinned side seam to side seam armhole. Another pin is at SP and shoulderseam. I grab the armhole so that the seam allowances of armhole and sleeve cap run over my curled (?word) fingers. Where the seam will be  is the highest part of my finger tips- the armhole and sleeve seam allowance are "bend" into my palms (see my master pic! hemhem).

The sleeve has now a longer way to run over the fingertips (because it lays above) as the armhole and so the fullness will distribute evenly. (if someone can say this in good english I would appreciate that)

sleeve12.png

I pin the notches together. No problem. First is the zero ease part. Baste it. Next part: Fn-Sp1 pin and distribute the ease - baste. Next from Sp1-SP ( is the difficultest part) same procedur  but try to have no ease 0.8-0.5 cm before SP. Because the sleeve is on graim here you'll get easy little folds. You can ease best where the sleeve fabric is not on grain. You do the next fraction till you end at sideseam.
The sleeve is in. Try it on and look if the hang is correct.

Why all these Explainations?

This system is very versatile. You can draft every inset sleeve be it a fabric, knit, or shirt. Here you put in other variables. Let's take a men's shirt style. For example I take the same armhole and same measurements to show you how it works. (In reality the shirt armhole is longer and more flat than a armhole for fitted garments. See examples at the beginning.) We alter the cap height to 65% = 15 and the ease of cap is 2%  = 1.2. And we take 96 % for the 2 sides of the triangle. So A-B would be 26,2 cm and B-C 31,4 cm

In the pic you see the shirt sleeve cap and in comparison the sleeve for my jacket

sleeve13.png

As rule of thumb the cap height for shirts is ¼ of Armholecirc + - some centimeter . Here the cap height is 15 cm – 14.7 would be the  ¼ circ.

When you look at the first pic here you can see why I'm so excited about. I have my armhole and draw the scaffold Basic line, sleeve cap height and the 2 circles with the calculated lengths of front and back armhole + ease.
I can measure before I start constructing if I get my biceps + ease. If not I take my ruler and moving it up or down the cap height line parallel the basic line till I get the width I need. If I construct the conservative way I have mostly to alter the sleeve, put more width in and lower the sleeve cap height. Which is more work for me.
End part 5

Should I add something?

Thanks a lot for this full sleeve service!

One thing I wonder: How do you get the front and back notch of the armhole?

Thanks for writing this up. And, your English is pretty good.  Curl is certainly used right.

I wonder if what you mean is the word 'fullness' instead of 'ease' in this case. 

"as the armhole and so the ease will distribute evenly."

But ease is also completely acceptable.

:)

Part 5
Too Much Ease
Now if you have a sleeve that has too much ease and you do not want to draw a new sleeve, you must take that out. I show you how. (Sorry, it is a 2-piece sleeve but that does not matter)
sleeve14.png

We all know now where the ease is: 1/3 in front and 2/3 in the back. We want to take out 2 cm. We snip the sleeve like shown into 3 parts. Now start to rotate. First rotating Part 1 to the inside (¼ of the amount to take out here 0.5 cm). Then Part 1 and 2 together again 0.5 cm  to the inside -  rotating point at hem – grainline. And last part 3 (same Rotating point) to the inside to.  We have done away 1.5 cm now for the last 0.5 cm ast we shorten the cap. Naturally you have to move the back notch and the SP2 point higher up.

The Place for the Notches.

Peterle asked how I place the notches. I draft my pattern after Mueller. Now we have a look at the first armhole at the beginning.


sleeve16.png

You see the front armhole (blue) and the back armhole (red). In the back armhole I have opened the dart again which I have rotated  earlier ffor my pattern to the shoulder.  I have drafted in the front armhole line and the back armhole line which I need for construction. (Mueller draft the back armhole 1.5 cm at back notch away from the back armhole line. Why ever. I think to get more mobility). 
The back armhole line meets the shoulder line. And is parted from that point with 4. The lowest ¼ notch is the place for the back notch.

For front notch I must do some calculations. I measure from side seam to front armhole line. I multiply it with 3 because Mueller parts the armhole 1:2. Now I have my armhole diameter (or armhole width?) here 16.8. This I divide with 4 = 4.2 cm. Go up along the front armhole line and do the front notch.
end part 5
all questions are answered?

Thanks a lot for your efforts. All questions answered for my part.

the end

Now I show to complete it how to draft a sleeve from the first type of armhole and cap.
A classical slim sleeve with elbow dart  or 2 piece sleeve:
First you draft the front sleeve break, line goes straight down from front notch down. The back sleeve break you find in ½ the distance between C and D. Straight line up and down.
sleeve17.png

Now the elbow line. You calculate it with 60 % of the Sleeve length , draft down from Point A. Now you tighten the sleeve at elbow . You draft in 1 cm in at front break and back break und at back side seam. You draft 2 -3 cm up at the hem like shown and you mark 1/2 of your hem width from this point to the hem line. You connect like shown in blue for front sleeve and green for back.

sleeve18.png

you cut down from front notch to hem and cut this part at elbow line. You rotate the front pieces so they touch the blue line. They will overlapp. Now mirrow the blue line at the back break about that line for the formed back sleeve.

sleeve19.png

You find the point where the front side seam will end. You measure the distance and go to the back side seam and shorten here. Rotate the back and the front so that they will touch at elbow line and back break. Finish with a gentle curved hem. You have to stretch the side seam of front with the iron. To do it easier do notches about up 14 cm from hem and 14 cm down from B and C.
end
I used some books to write this: Maßschnitte und Passform, Guido Hofenbitzer, Verlag Europa Lehrmittel
Schnittkonstruktion für Blusen und Kleider, Deutsche Bekleidungsakademie München, Rundschauverlag,
Pattern Cutting, Dennic Chunman Lo, Laurence King Publishing and my notices from courses held by Schule für Mode und Design, Offenbach.

Thanks!
When I get home from vacation I plan on trying them out!

Posaune - Thank you! Thank you! Thankyou!  This is so kind of you to take this time - I am having a devil of a time with my sleeves. I'll work on this throughout the week.

Vielen dank!

I'm very interested how you will find the draft.
A last end (hehehe)

Here are 3 other types of sleeves derived of the system
First is a two piece sleeve. Derived from the narrow sleeve. You set a curve on both seams about 1 cm. This way you can get more room for the biceps.
The second is a sleeve for a knitted fabric and the third is a shirt sleeve. (We had now 83% 75% and 65%)
The last two are derived from different cap heights. The shirt sleeve is already shortened for the cuff.  I have taken the same armhole dates which would not be the case in reality.
lg
posaune

sleeve20.png

I am determined to do it but I am putting aside time to read through He he. :)

Oh it came out a bit long, didn't it??
lg
posaune ;D ;D

More than a bit....but then that's what I needed...lots of diagrams, directions and explanations.
:D :D :D

I've so much going on in my life at the moment....I keep waiting for my sewing to be relaxing - I need it to be!


But then it just occurred  to me during this post, that when I am extra stressed - my brain has trouble with simple math functions....usually I'm a bit of a whiz.  Its no wonder I'm having such a problem!


So now that you've helped me realize that issue also - thank you! - hopefully I can get down to business now that I know what to do. :)

By no means too long - I love it -  it does deserve the time to put in to read it. 

Oh no, it´s not too long.
It´s as long as it has to be. Thanks a lot for taking the time to write it!

This is an absoultely amazing tutorial ...  :)

Thank you Posaune, this is definitely worth the time! I will try it against my personal "mixed bag" methods that almost always seem to have missing parameters and sometimes sleeve heads in special measurements turn out "arkward looking" like the koreans say (but then, they call a sheeth dress "one piece dress")

Thank you for your insights, cheers, Hendrick