Sleeve-Head

Secrets
An often overlooked tailoring
element adds support and shape

BY JUDITH NEUKAM

G
arments always look better when their sleeves
extend from the body so smoothly the attachment
area looks nearly seamless. Even if you manage to con-
trol the sleeve-cap ease and avoid a puckered seamline,
the sleeve cap may have empty space within, between the shoulder
and upper arm, where the sleeve curves downward from the armscye
seam. Instead of looking sculpted, the sleeve cap collapses, creating a
hollow area; the armscye seam allowances may show through as a row of
uneven lumps. This can happen in any garment, from a fluid silk blouse to
a strictly tailored coat or jacket.
One of the easiest and most successful ways to solve this problem is by sup-
porting the sleeve cap with a well-designed sleeve head. This simple tailoring
technique is often overlooked in sewing sources; you’ll rarely find it mentioned
in a standard commercial pattern. However, once you understand the concept
and become familiar with the materials and basic technique, you can create sleeve
heads for just about any garment with set-in sleeves.
Decades ago, when I first looked for sleeve-head directions in my sewing books, the
best I could find was a two- or three-sentence description, without images. When I fol-
lowed the minimal directions, the resulting sleeve heads were good. But there’s more to
know if you want to make better sleeve heads for a range of garment styles.
Even though you can purchase ready-made sleeve heads from a tailor supply (e.g., BBlack
andSons.com), I prefer the flexibility and spontaneity of making my own. I’ll describe some
of my preferred materials for crafting sleeve heads for garments of different weights and styles.
I’ll also show you five methods for cutting and installing a sleeve head. Experiment with these
approaches, and try other materials and proportions to create the effect you want for your garment.

Contributing Editor Judith Neukam writes from her home in the Midwest.
Garments from any fabric
can benefit from the
support of a sleeve head.

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 Prepare the elements
Match the sleeve head’s characteristics to those of the garment fabric. Install the sleeve, and
visualize where the sleeve head will be placed within the sleeve cap.

SELECT THE SLEEVE-HEAD FABRIC

In general, the sleeve-head fabric should reflect the garment fabric’s weight. A nonraveling
material is the best option for any sleeve head, and you can select from knits or wovens. For
knits, choose fabrics with nap for soft loft, and cut the head across the grain. Polyester fleece and
minky make good sleeve-head material. They are available in different thicknesses and colors,
and can be machine-washed and dried. These knits will not shrink into shape with pressing.
Woven fabrics should be cut on the bias, so the attachment seam doesn’t follow a lengthwise
or cross-grain yarn. This adds spring to the sleeve head when it is folded and provides controlled
shaping. Wool is an excellent choice: It comes in a variety of weights and loft and can be shrunk
or shaped with steam pressing.
If you use a fluffy fabric, choose a color as close to the garment color as possible, in case it
beards (fibers migrate from the sleeve head through to the garment’s right side). If you add a
sleeve head to a sheer or semisheer garment, use self-fabric or match the sleeve-head fabric to
your skin color, so the head and seam allowance don’t show through the fashion fabric.
To create a firm and lofty sleeve head, you can use felt or needled batting. Batting may not
withstand wear, cleaning, and pressing over the lifespan of the garment, however.
Match the sleeve heads’ care requirements with those of the garment’s fashion fabric. If you
plan to launder the garment, use a washable material. Prewash the fabric. If it’s dyed, use a Color
Grabber sheet (Carbona.com) to capture any dye that is released in the wash water.

INSERT THE SLEEVE

Add a soft, fusible tricot underlining to the sleeve to hold its
shape and eliminate show-through of any underlayers. Sew
the sleeve’s vertical seam(s), add easestitching and ease
the sleeve cap, then set the sleeve into the garment. BODICE
(WS)
Sleeve-head
seam
UNDERSTAND THE PLACEMENT
The sleeve head will be installed within
the assembled garment, attached to
the armscye seam allowances. In
a lined garment, it sits between Armscye Bodice seam
the fashion fabric and lining. seam allowance
For specific instructions, see
the following pages.

SLEEVE HEAD SLEEVE (WS)

Sleeve seam
The sleeve head sits allowance
within the sleeve’s cap.
Sleeve-head
seam allowance
Many fabrics are suitable for
making sleeve heads, from
fleece and felt to wool and
even silk organza.

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 Basic sleeve-head construction Blouse-weight version
The simplest sleeve head is made from a bias-cut fabric strip. The For unstructured garments in lightweight fabrics, a sleeve
method explained below is sometimes called a single-roll sleeve head. head can provide discreet support.
You can use any of the fabric options to make this head, depending on
the desired result.
Select a fabric. I recommend fine, lightweight fleece,
1 such as minky, with a low nap or pile on one face. If the
garment is semisheer or sheer, choose a fleece color to
Cut the strips. For each sleeve head, cut one strip on the bias, from
1 11⁄2 inches wide to 3 inches wide and up to 15 inches long; trim to size
during the installation process. If you plan to include shoulder pads,
match your skin tone.

Cut cross-grain strips. Make them 11⁄2 inches wide by

make the strips about 1 inch longer than the shoulder pad on each end.
2 about 15 inches long.

Position the strips. Align a strip with one long edge along the raw
2 edges of the sewn sleeve-cap seam allowance; the strip extends
toward the sleeve. Place the strip’s ends at the front and back notches.
3 Position and stitch the sleeve heads. Place the strip
with its fleecy face against the sleeve’s wrong side.
Follow steps 2 through 4, at left, for the basic sleeve head.

Sew the strips in place. Set the machine for a 3.0-mm-long straight
3 stitch. With the strip against the feed dogs and the armscye seam
allowances on top, sew within the seam allowance, close to the
armscye seamline.

Fold and trim the sleeve

4 head. Turn the armscye
seam allowances and the
sleeve head toward the sleeve.
Press gently. This folds the
sleeve-head strip lengthwise,
in uneven widths: The wider
portion is against the sleeve
cap and the narrower portion
supports it. Trim the wider
portion’s corners to round
them near the notches. If
needed, cut slits in the wider
band to prevent rippling.

Bodice seam
allowance

Sleeve-cap Sleeve-head
seam allowance seam allowance
Sleeve head

Armscye seam
Slit Slit allowances
SLEEVE (WS) SLEEVE (WS)

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 Double-roll type
This sleeve-head style provides more substantial support, as the sleeve-head strip is folded to incorporate additional layers. The method is
shown in Kenneth D. King’s Smart Tailoring video workshop or DVD set. It’s appropriate for jackets and coats made of heavyweight fabrics.

Cut strips. Cut bias strips of wool

1 coating or suiting, 3 inches wide
by 15 inches long (or the length of the
5 Trim and press. Round the corners and press the allowances and sleeve heads
toward the sleeve cap.

armscye seam between the front and

back notches).

Prepare the sleeve heads. Fold

2 each strip lengthwise, so one long
edge extends 1⁄2 inch beyond the other.
Zigzag-stitch 3⁄8 inch from the fold to
secure the layers. Fold the strip along
the zigzag stitching to enclose the
narrow layer.

First fold

Second
fold
Zigzag
stitching

Shape the sleeve heads. With a

3 steam iron, press the folded strip to
match the sleeve-cap shape, following
Armscye seam
allowances
the paper pattern. Mold the strips to
create two mirror-image sleeve heads,
shrinking out ripples or excess fabric.
First fold

Install the sleeve heads. Position

4 them against the sleeve’s wrong
side, with the zigzag-stitched second
Sleeve
head
Second fold

Sleeve-head SLEEVE (WS)

fold about 1⁄8 inch from the armscye
seam
seamline, within the seam allowance.
Hand-sew with a running stitch The sleeve head’s
through all layers, to secure the sleeve extra layers fill in
head to the armscye seam allowances. the sleeve cap.

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 Exaggerated shoulder
If you seek to construct a more emphatic shoulder where the sleeve cap is level with, or even rises slightly above, the armscye seam
(though without gathers), you can enhance a sleeve head by inserting a length of cording.

Choose cording. Cotton cording intended for upholstery welting Steam to shape. Lightly steam the sleeve cap and mold it
1 is suitable, in nearly any diameter. Thick cording produces the
most pronounced shoulder shape. Cut it to the armscye seam’s
5 over the cording to create the enhanced shape.

Photos: Sloan Howard. Illustrations: Steven Fleck. Fabrics: (p. 50, top to bottom) coat-weight woven wool, wool bouclé, pebble-finish wool, lightweight wool crepe, and print cotton batiste—all from MoodFabric.com.
length between the front and back notches, and trim the ends to
create a tapered shape.

SILK ORGANZA

Choose cording diameter based on the fabric weight and desired finished
effect. The sleeve head may be silk organza or other fabric.

Prepare the head strip. Cut a bias sleeve-head strip from silk
2 organza, wide enough to enclose the cording and extend into
the sleeve cap. It may need to be 3 inches or wider; err on the side Armscye seam
of wider, as you can trim it narrower later. Make it an inch longer allowances
than the cording, and taper the cording on the ends. If the garment
fabric is thin, the sleeve head may be made from a fabric heavier
than organza, such as lightweight wool.

Attach the sleeve head. Follow the instructions for a basic,

3 single-roll sleeve head, p. 52.

Cording
Insert the cording. Wrap the cord within the sleeve-head Catchstitching
4 layers, and hand-sew it in place, stitching through the armscye
seam allowances but not through to the garment’s exterior. If the
Silk organza
sleeve head
garment fabric is bulky, catchstitch the armscye seam allowances
to the cording to control the bulk.
SLEEVE (WS)

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 Shaped sleeve head
Another method for making a sleeve head is to cut a pattern based on the original sleeve pattern. You can add layers as desired using
lofty fabrics to provide extra support. This version is useful for garments with large shoulder pads, as it fills the gap created by the pad.

Make the pattern. Trace the sleeve
1 pattern’s sleeve-cap cutting line,
from front to back notches. Draw a
line about 2 inches inside this. Shape
the line by curving the short ends
and creating a divot at the center; the
finished pattern resembles a mustache.
Add a bias grainline to the pattern.
Photos: Sloan Howard. Fabrics: (p. 50, top to bottom) coat-weight woven wool, wool bouclé, pebble-finish wool, lightweight wool crepe, and print cotton batiste—all from MoodFabric.com.
Install the sleeve heads. Align the
3 outer curve along the sleeve’s seam
allowances. If you are including a felt
layer, sandwich it between the sleeve
head and sleeve cap. Sew just inside
the armscye seamline, within the
sleeve seam allowance.

Cut the sleeve heads. Cut two on Press the sleeve cap. Fold the sleeve
2 the bias from wool fabric. If desired,
cut two additional pieces from felt,
4 head and all seam allowances
toward the sleeve cap. Then press
batting, or fleece, and trim them gently to shape.
narrower than the wool pieces.

Sleeve
cutting
line
Armscye seam
allowances
SLEEVE PATTERN

Felt layer
Sleeve-head
seam allowance

Sleeve head
e
lin

SLEEVE (WS)
Sleeve-head SHOULDER PAD TIPS
ain

pattern
Gr

Sleeve heads and shoulder pads have

different functions: A shoulder pad
shapes and supports the shoulder
seam, whereas the sleeve head
Shaped
sleeve provides lift to the sleeve cap. You
head can include either or both in a
tailored garment.
You may need to trim the shoulder
pad’s outer edge so it matches the
armscye seamline shape. Position
and attach the shoulder pad after
Shaped felt
layer web extra setting the sleeve. Hand-sew it along
the armscye seam allowance. Then
Judith Neukam discusses the role of sleeve heads
in a video at ThreadsMagazine.com. hand-stitch the sleeve head in place.

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