Sewing in sleeves
Elizabeth Chernova
Does anyone have a good method for putting in sleeves? I am just having the
hardest time with this especially where it says "Ease in"
Thanks in Advance
Lizka
NO MORE SPAM!
and sleeve seams, then sew one seam under the arm. I find easeing the sleeve
much easier if it is flat. also pin or baste before finish sewing so it wont
slip around on you! ChristinaMarie
>
W, B, P Gay
the desired result is a smooth sleeve seam, no puckers? (I am also
assuming a shirt/dress (not jacket) and non-wool fabric)
> Remember that you are matching the _stitching line_ not the cut edges.
(Cut edges should align; sleeve edge should not hang over garment
edge, nor be inside of garment edge, but sleeve seam allowance will
not lie flat, there will be a bit of a ripple, as _seam lines_ should
be nearly the same length; edge of sleeve will be longer than edge
of arm hole)
> If the pattern is well-drafted and carefully cut out, following the
instructions and ease-stitching inside the seam line may make the
sleeve too small for the arm scye. If you've done the stitching
and if the sleeve cap seems too small, just clip the stitching in
a few places
> Some people can just sew this type of sleeve in; I like to use (lots)
of pins. Start my matching the underarm, then the shoulder point,
then the notches. Matching at _stitching line_, smooth an area,
dividing any "ease" or "fullness" equally on both sides of the mid-
point. Pin. Put the pin in so that you are pinning _on_ the seam
line. Keep smoothing, dividing ease/fullness equally on both
sides of the midpoint . When you have done the "divide and conquer"
(or divide and pin) bit for one section, move on to the next.
> When all is pinned, sew carefully, smoothing garment front/back and
sleeve in front of the needel, to avoid puckers.
> If you do get a pucker in garment or sleeve, rip only as much as
necessary so you can resew w/ out pucker
> This "divide and pin" method will also work w/ gathered sleeve,
just stitch gathering rows first, then pull up.
Hope this helps
Win
Thomas Farrell
Believe me, this isn't *close* to the oddest sewing questions we've
heard here.
>Does anyone have a good method for putting in sleeves? I am just having the
>hardest time with this especially where it says "Ease in"
Time for me to ramble on a bit about this. Before I describe a method, I
need to point out that there are two fundamental types of sleeves: shirt
sleeves and set-in sleeves.
SHIRT SLEEVES are sewn in flat onto a flat body. In other words, the
curve at the top of the sleeve (the sleeve cap) is sewn into the curved
socket on the body (the armscye) before the side seam of the shirt or
the seam down the length of the sleeve is sewn.
SET-IN SLEEVES are different. You first sew the side seam of the garment
and the seam down the length of the sleeve. Then you put the circular
sleeve cap into the circular armscye and sew all the way around. The
reason for this is that the designer did not make the sleeve seam align
with the body side seam.
To install shirt sleeves that do not require easing in, begin by
aligning one end of the sleeve cap with one end of the armscye, right
sides together, sleeve on the bottom. (The sleeve will touch the feed
dogs, the body will touch the presser foot.) USE NO PINS. Begin sewing.
Sew slowly. As you sew, make sure the sleeve turns so that the machine
goes around the curve with a uniform seam allowance. Bend the armscye
backwards as you sew to make it align with the sleeve cap. Remember, you
don't have to make a lot of it align: just make a little bit align,
right in front of the presser foot. Align an inch, sew an inch, repeat.
Soon the sleeve will be installed and you'll have a beatiful smooth
armscye seam.
To install shirt sleeves that *do* require easing in, follow the above
procedure, except before starting, center the sleeve cap in the armscye
and put in *one* pin to keep the sleeve cap centered in the armscye. As
you sew around the curve, gently stretch the armscye - AND NOT THE
SLEEVE CAP - as you sew. Keep a constant gentle pull on the armscye.
Make sure to remove the pin when it's about two inches (6cm) from the
presset-foot so the pin won't cause any distortion in the seam. The pin
may be used as a reference of how you're doing - if the lengths of the
pieces are matching better as you near the pin, you're doing well. If
the armscye is still too short for the part of the sleeve leading up to
the pin, you need to stretch harder. If the armscye has become longer
than the sleeve cap, you're stretching too hard.
For set in sleeves, all I can recommend is, if you're having problems
putting them in with no pins, use lots and lots and lots of pins, or
alter the pattern to either have no easing or to have shirt sleeves.
Tom
--
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Kay Lancaster
<cher...@innocent.com> wrote:
>Does anyone have a good method for putting in sleeves? I am just having the
>hardest time with this especially where it says "Ease in"
1a) If you have access to a serger, set the differential feed to "gather" and
serge along the edge (you should be trimming a bare sliver, if any, fabric)
and serge from notch to notch.
1b) If you don't have a serger, try "ease plus" or "crowding". Set your
machine to a moderately long stitch (3-4 mm) and sew just inside the seam line
(so you're actually sewing barely on the seam allowance). However, before
you start, put your left thumb *firmly* behind the presser foot and allow
the fabric to pile up against your thumb... it'll make sort of a pleating
effect, and that pleating will allow you to insert the sleeve smoothly.
2) Pin sleeve to body, matching notches and dots. If the sleeve is too small
to fit the armscye (armhole), take your seam ripper and pop the stitching
every 1/2" or so along the serging. Smooth the sleeve in, and sew *with the
sleeve down, body on top*. If you have to ease anything, the side that's
"too big" goes next to the feed dogs... they will very slightly ease
the fabric next to the feed dogs*.
(*This is why, when you start out seaming two long pieces of fabric together,
even if you carefully match the top, the bottom doesn't come out even unless
you adjust things along the way.)
Kay Lancaster k...@fern.com