Successful sleeves need careful measuring

Most sleeves in commercial patterns are too large to fit properly in arm's hole.
By SUSAN KHALJE
SCRIPPS HOWARD
I've just spent a week in Sacramento, helping students put together some very wonderful jackets. And it reminded me that sleeves always seem to be a predictable stumbling block for most beginning sewers.
And the problem with sleeves usually focuses on the point at which it comes to fitting a sleeve into the armscye (pronounced "arm's eye"), the term for the sleeve opening in the garment's body. So while it's front and center in my mind, I'd like to share some tips for making the whole process a little smoother.
In most cases, my students started with commercial patterns. I always ask my students to look for a jacket with a two-piece sleeve, and to make a muslin copy of their garment ahead of time. It's my experience that most sleeves in commercial patterns are too large, so after the necessary scaling down we can begin immediately to fit them into the armscyes. Once I have a sleeve I'm happy with, I start measuring.
Proper proportions
The difference between the measurement of the sleeve around its top edge and the opening in the jacket should be between an inch and an inch and a half, with the sleeve being the larger measurement. If these two measurements aren't in the proper proportion, the sleeve simply won't go in nicely, regardless of your dressmaking skills.
Certainly, some fabrics are easier to ease in than others, but the measurements must have this proportion. I always place three rows of gathering stitches at the top of the sleeve -- and pull them as necessary, giving a pretty shape to the sleeve cap area. I'll mist the sleeve head with a little water if it's wool (I like to pin it into place on my mannequin and leave it for a few hours, or overnight, to dry). I then position the sleeve by first pinning the top of it to the shoulder area of the jacket, while it's on the wearer, or on the mannequin. This is my chance to align grains and to make sure that both the horizontal and perpendicular grains are exactly as they should be -- that is, absolutely vertical and absolutely horizontal.
Distribution
I then take the sleeve off the wearer (or the dress form), and start to pin, easing in fullness all the way around. The bulk of my easing is certainly in the sleeve cap area, but I distribute a little of the ease in other areas as well. If the top of the sleeve seems to have caved in and really isn't creating a very pretty line, then I'll fill it out with the support of a sleeve head. If the silhouette benefits from it, I'll add a shoulder pad.
Trust me; measuring is the key. And, yes, I know it's not easy to measure a curved seam in a partially-sewn garment -- but if you slowly and carefully work your tape measure around (do it a couple of times to make sure that your measuring is accurate), I guarantee you'll no longer be tormented by sleeves that don't want to smoothly fit into place.