Beginners Pattern Drafting Info, design and pattern cutting, Pattern Cutting Techniques

How do I Increase or Decrease Sleeve Head Ease?

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What is sleeve head ease?

Sleeve head ease is the difference between the armhole measurement and the sleeve itself. The sleeve can never be smaller than the armhole, it can be the same size and contain no ease at all, or it can be larger. The difference between the two is the quantity of sleeve head ease. Leather patterns require no ease at all while woven wool garments require a substantial quantity of ease in this area.

Do I need ease in my sleeve?

Firstly there is a lot of discussion out there about sleeve head or sleeve cap ease. Some ask the question – Is it needed at all?

Many believe that it is needed and that around 4 cm (almost 2 inches) ease in a sleeve head is required for a basic block (for a basic size 12 UK / 8 USA). For a regular woven loose fit shirt the ease in a sleeve head can be anything from no ease at all to up to 6 cm. Around 4.5 cm is usual on a fitted blouse (for a basic size 12 UK).

In an industrial setting minimal ease is added in order to make inserting the sleeve easier and faster but this does compromise the fit. The large the size the more ease you require to enable the sleeve to hang correctly and not be too tight over the bicep. Older people require more ease than younger people.

I have studied many a pattern and block pattern draft and the quantity of ease allowed varies widely from pattern to pattern and from block to block.

I was taught that ease in the sleeve head allows the sleeve to hang as a tube and improves the appearance of the sleeve around the bicep line. There are in fact many factors that influence the quantity of ease. Instead of discussing the ease or no ease debate, lets take a look at how to increase the quantity of ease there is in your sleeve head, or decrease the amount. You then have the skills to make your own choice! It is far better to start with more ease than you need and take out the extra than be in a position where you have too little ease and the sleeve is tight and has pull lines over the top of the arm.

Ease in a sleeve head should be planned over the crown of the sleeve, above the notches.

The sections from the underarm to the notches on the sleeve, usually 1 notch at the front and 2 at the back, should fit to the armhole perfectly as illustrated below. All the ease should be above the notches at the crown.

Increasing or decreasing the quantity of ease in the sleeve head.

The first step for both methods is the same – slash in across the bicep line and up the center line, keep attached at the underarm points. Either close out to reduce sleeve head ease by dropping the left and right sleeve head sections down slightly, or to increase sleeve head ease, open up the sections.

Now trace the new sleeve shape, check and transfer the notches to the new sleeve.

There are other methods of doing this, but I have found this one works the best for me. This method allows the width of the sleeve to remain the same, whilst reducing the ease through the crown height.

Keep posted for my upcoming post on the best way to ease the sleeve into the armhole.

I would love to hear your thoughts on this.

I hope this has helped.

Happy pattern drafting,

Nicola x

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Beginners Pattern Drafting Info, design and pattern cutting, Pattern Cutting Techniques

Work Flow for creating a pattern from a basic block

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New pattern cutters have the advantage of adopting good working practices right from the start. If you can adapt to follow this process your work flow will be smooth and you will save time.

  1. Trace the relevant block onto your pattern paper – use plain white tracing paper or spot and cross paper  Follow the links for a supplier that will post starter pattern cutting paper packs all over the world !
  2. Transfer all grain lines and construction lines such as hip line, dart lines, notches etc.
  3. Make any changes to the shape of the basic block first, for example adding more flare or moving darts. More paper can always be taped on to extend the first draft.
  4. Plan any new seam lines on the draft. Take care not to plan seam lines unevenly over darts. You can move darts to a temporary position if they are in the way, or measure carefully across the dart as shown in the images below.
  5. Mark each pattern section on the draft with a grain line, add balance marks and notches and any special instructions.
  6. Plan and draft button stands, now draft any off parts such as collars and cuffs.
  7. Plan facing lines, facings are best produced from the final pattern sections but they can be planned now.
  8. Trace each pattern piece off the main draft- never cut the main draft up!
  9. Add seam allowance – only when you are certain you have completed your pattern, adding seam allowance is the last thing you do. See my post on suggested seam allowance quantities.
  10. Label the pattern, see my post on labelling your pattern.
  11. Finally cut out your first pattern – you are ready to test your pattern with a toile.

If you plan across without measuring, the pattern piece you trace off will not be correct, as illustrated below. This is a common mistake people make and it results in an ill fitting pattern.

Planning across a dart results in a jagged pattern piece!

I hope this helps.

Happy pattern drafting,

Nicola

 

 

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Beginners Pattern Drafting Info, design and pattern cutting, Pattern Cutting Techniques

Making 1 dart into 2 darts- Ideal for Skirts & Trousers

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What if my block or pattern has 1 dart and I want 2 darts!

I am often asked what to do if a block or pattern has 1 dart and the designer wants 2 darts, in the skirt or trouser style they are working on. It really isn’t that difficult to amend a block and reduce or even increase the number of darts, as long as you follow a few rules.

Measure the 1/4 waist and divide into thirds.

The first third of the waist is close to the hip and there is already shaping there so in order to keep a good fit and spread the suppression around the waist line, it is best not to plan the new dart in that area.

Mark lines where you want the darts, they do not need to be vertical lines, you can angle them gently if you want to.

Cut down these lines and along, to the apex of the dart you want to remove, keep the paper attached by a couple of millimetres – don’t worry if you do cut it accidentally , it just needs to be pivoted from the apex position ( tip of the old dart).

Fold out the old dart and balance the suppression equally between the two new darts.

The darts can be taken down as low as the hip line, but they are best at about 9 cm (3 9/16″ in length.

Here is my half scale pattern pictured above, The darts are folded in as they would be sewn and the waist now needs to be reshaped as the waist level. Where the old dart was positioned has risen slightly as the new darts were opened. This means we need to reshape the waist line run to keep a nice smooth shape.

Remove the excess and this completes the process, take a look at my 1/2 scale pattern on my much loved 1/2 scale stand!

In the background you can see an upcoming blog post in the making! If you have a dress stand I am going to demonstrate a wonderful technique for creating fitted patterns. Make sure you subscribe so you don’t miss the post!

If you have any questions or comments please don’t hesitate to get in touch.

If you want to know more about darts check out this great dart workbook.

If you need 1/4 and half scale blocks to practice you can find them here.

Nicola x

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