increasingi sleeve cap ease – Modeliste Creative

‘Easing’ a sleeve head into an armhole – professionally!

December 11, 2020 No Comments

This very important step is sadly one that is often rushed or even missed out completely by pattern makers and sewers, there is no doubt that it takes time and skill to insert a sleeve into an armhole and deal with the ease in the sleeve head correctly.

There is preparation involved and many commercial sewing pattern guidelines do not follow the correct methods, they adopt short cuts, to be fair to them it would be difficult to explain the whole process and it would simply take too long.

Most high street clothing manufacturers remove a large quantity of the ease from the sleeve head as it makes the sewing process much easier for the machinist in the factory, at the expense of good fit. Little or no ease in the sleeve head can make the sleeve hang badly and create drag lines at the top of the arm and bicep.

In this post I am going to focus on the best way to deal with the ease in the sleeve head, if you have read my earlier posts on sleeve head ease then you will be familiar with how to increase or decrease the ease in your sleeve pattern. I am going to show you my method of sewing a sleeve into an armhole and how I ease in the extra fabric we often have at the crown.

The above image shows the front and back bodice laid on top of the sleeve block. The pink arrows show that the back armhole and back sleeve up to the double notch positions match perfectly, and they should, as there is no ease in this part of the sleeve. The blue arrow shows how the point onwards from the notches on the back bodice matches the back sleeve – note how the measurement of the back bodice doesn’t quite make it to the notch at the sleeve head.

If we travel from the green arrow on the front armhole and apply the same measurement to the sleeves again we see that the front sleeve and armhole match perfectly from the underarm seam up to the single front notch. The orange arrows show the measurement, taken from the front bodice, of the remaining armhole, and applied to the sleeve, again this measurement stops short of the notch at the top of the sleeve.

The area marked in yellow is our ‘EASE’ and this ease needs to be ‘eased’ in between the back armhole notches and the front armhole notch.

How easy this step is depends very much on the fabric you are using, in my example I used a calico, with very little softness, if I had used a wool with a loose weave then I would have found compressing the fabric much easier!

I am easing in the maximum quantity of ease, just over 6 cm.

Make 2 rows of stitching, a narrow distance apart, they should be just inside your seam allowance.

Use the ends of the threads to pull in the fabric and compress the ease, you are aiming for a smooth line with no pleats or tucks, you can also use steam to help compress and shrink the fabric. This may take some time, but be patient and you will manage it. I have 6.2 cm ease in this example and I have manage to ease it all in between the notches.

When you are happy with the sleeve head, it is then time to pin the sleeve into the armhole, all the notches should match perfectly.

There is a saying in sewing ‘we never want a saggy bottom’ this will help you remember that any excess you have to ease in should always be at the top!

A tailors ham is the best tool for pressing and steaming the sleeve head.

The sleeve head should roll off the armhole at the top, as all the ease you compressed is released. As I am using a stiff calico the effect is not as beautiful as it would be if I were to use a wool fabric that compressed easily.

I hope this helps you with your sleeve sewing and improves the fit and appearance of your next sleeve!

Happy sewing and pattern making,

Nicola

How do I Increase or Decrease Sleeve Head Ease?

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