The number of days that I’m away from technical design will continue to increase but that doesn’t mean the number of days I spend pattern making should decrease. If anything, changing jobs has been a breath of fresh air. Yes, I enjoyed technical design very much, but I was overdosing on my own medicine. Pattern making always excited me, even if I spent an entire work week pattern making, but it now makes me giddy. I look forward to coming home and reading my sewing and pattern making books and I look forward to reading your blog posts on your most recent creations, ideas, or future projects. Call me crazy but last Saturday, before I got cabin fever and headed out into Center City to indulge in 70 degree weather, I spent the morning reading a book on drafting and sewing undies. Nerd? Absolutely.
I’m also giddy about this post. Raglan sleeves.
Raglan sleeves are not as tricky as set- in sleeves by they are tricky. They’re tricky because they’re one of those silhouettes that will never have a ‘perfect’ fit. Just like dolman sleeves, draglines will always be present, even if it’s slight. It’s the nature of the silhouette. Just accept it.
That doesn’t mean that raglan sleeves can’t have a ‘good’ fit. The most common fit issue with raglan sleeves is that there is too much fabric at the front arm. On most women, the chest dips slightly halfway between the neck and armhole and a slight curve must be built into the pattern in order for the fabric to lay smoothly. The pattern correction is simple. Since everyone’s body is different, I highly suggest sewing a fit sample and pinning out excess to determine how and where to eliminate. Depending on your body’s shape, you may have to eliminate higher or lower or more or less than the “recommended” amount (according to textbooks). Regardless of your body’s shape though, both the front and front sleeve need to be SCOOPED at the front sleeve seam. As shown on sketch, blend to 0” at neck and undersleeve. Simple.
