Thursday, July 1, 2010

Yay for Sleeve Heads!

So I've been plugging away on my red linen suit lately. The skirt is complete, and the jacket is progressing nicely I think. I ended up using a modern (but out of print) McCall's pattern for the jacket. (It's 5278, view A, if you're interested.) I had just inserted the sleeves and was greeted with a rather sorry sight on my dress form. Look at that saggy, mushy, sleeve head!


Now, of course it will be a bit mushy on the dress form as Veronica does not have the benefit of shoulders. But even so, I could see that I was going to want a crisper look. Enter the magical sleeve head!

I first learned about sleeve heads in my favorite tailoring book when I was making my red winter coat, but I didn't end up using them since the coating was so thick it supported the sleeve head on its own. But this linen is not doing that, definitely. So luckily I had a couple of the suckers on hand to experiment with. The Sewing Divas have a really nice post on sleeve heads that I found VERY helpful in my process, so do give it a read if you're interested in this topic.

Here's what my sleeve heads look like. I bought these at Steinlauf & Stoller, and this is the only kind they sell. They're basically a strip of batting with a bias strip of muslin folded over it and stitched.


To start, you'll want to turn your jacket inside out and work that way.


VERY IMPORTANT: trim your sleeve seam allowances down to 3/8". This keeps your sleeve heads from sticking out too far. You'll see what I mean in a minute.

Find the exact middle of your sleeve head by folding it in half crosswise and marking it with a pin.


Now match this pin to your shoulder seam on your jacket. Pin the sleeve head to your sleeve seam allowance, matching up the edge of the sleeve head with the raw edge of the seam allowance (which you've cut down to 3/8" of an inch, right? See how it would be a little extreme if they were extending 5/8"?).


Baste the sleeve head to your seam allowance. I did mine by machine.

You'll want to try on your jacket and make sure you're happy with how it looks before stitching it permanently. Then stitch it on by machine, making sure that you're within the seam allowance. Here's how it will look. See the red stitching line?

Now look how nice the right-hand sleeve head looks compared to the other, headless one.

And from the back, now on the left-hand side. Whoa!


You can also add shoulder pads at this point, but I feel like that would be overkill for this jacket. Also, it's worth noting perhaps that this jacket will have a huge shawl collar, so the sleeve heads will probably be covered up anyway. Ah well. At least I'll know they look good, right?

Update: Ann from Gorgeous Fabrics wrote me a really nice e-mail explaining that there are two ways to use sleeve heads. The way I'm doing it here is kind of backwards if what you're going for is support of the sleeve. Since the bulk of the sleeve head is pointing toward my chest, what I'm actually achieving here is chest support, not sleeve support. If you turned the sleeve head around, you would get support in the sleeve. Perhaps I will take pictures both ways to show you the difference!

Also, a couple people have pointed out that you can make your own sleeve heads. Good materials include flannel, lambswool, muslin, and organza, among others. Whew, this could be an exhaustive topic! Thanks to Ann for the heads-up. (Ha, HEADs up, get it?)

26 comments:

  1. Yay for sleeveheads indeed. Question: If you are going to have shoulder pads (even the really skinny ones)anyway, do you need sleeveheads too?

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  2. The difference is truly amazing! Structure is cool.

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  3. Toby, I would say it really depends on your project. It's a great idea to have both sleeve heads and shoulder pads on hand so that you can pin them into your garment and try them on. I don't know if there's any definitive answer other than what feels best to you for each particular project.

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  4. I confess I had no idea such a thing existed, but I'm thrilled to find out about it! My shoulders (my own shoulders, not my clothes' shoulders, that is) are pretty square, so pads look moronic on me, but sometimes dress shoulders need a little more structure. This seems like the perfect compromise. Thanks!

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  5. Amazing difference! They must be magical! =) Thank you so much for taking the time to do this great tutorial.
    Since the local sewing supply store is rather thinly stocked, this is one more thing I'll want to look for during my vacation to southern Sweden =) Better start making a list... I'm going to come home with a bag full of sewing supplies! Lol

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  6. Wow, that is amazing. I'd never even heard of sleeve heads, but as I'm planning on making a jacket this Autumn, I shall definitely be looking into them. Thank you, Gertie!

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  7. NICE! thanks for this tutorial, i'm going through this with a vintage poofy sleeved pattern-- i used chiffon and now it looks like eeyore. i think i'll try a frankenstein version with a homemade sleevehead to give it some poof...

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  8. I may be wrong but I thought the sleeve head went inside the sleeve. It looks like the sewing Diva's show it being sewn inside the sleeve seam too.
    Is this a different method? It works beautifully.

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  9. Kathi G, you're right! Ann of Gorgeous Fabrics just wrote me a great e-mail about this. I unknowingly put them in backwards (with the bulk of the head facing the chest, when it typically faces out into the sleeve for support), but I actually really like the results so I will keep them this way. I'm going to update the post when I have a moment.

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  10. Thanks for the post! I've tried putting in sleeve heads before using various tutorials, but I think I was using materials that didn't have quite enough substance. No one sells sleeve heads here in upstate NY, and sometimes when you try to improvise you don't get it quite right. I'll try to make my own next time with some batting.

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  11. Gertie, this post was great. Like many of the other posters, I had no idea these even existed and the silhouette change is so dramatic! Maybe you could do special posts where you highlight finishing techniques that may be less known to the average home sewist?

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  12. You don't really need to buy them, they are quite easy to make. In Vogue Shaeffer 7467, there is a pattern piece for it. Would you like a copy?

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  14. The perfect incentive to get back to work on my linen jacket and its sadly drooping sleeves. The shoulder pads just didn't provide the needed support, so maybe this is what has been lacking. I'll have to make my own. but this is part of the adventure. I can't believe the difference in the look!

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  15. Wow! What an amazing difference! I love the structure that you've achieved without shoulder pads. Very cool!

    Am I confused though? I don't see anything like this suit amongst your Vogue listings on the left hand side of the page. It's not one of the ones is it? I mean, they are the big kahuna's right?

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  16. Wow. I've never heard of a sleeve head (unstructured me, why would I have?). I'm wondering if the seam tape you mentioned in an earlier post would also work, to give the sleeve the crispness that's so evident here. It's a major improvement.

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  17. Thanks for the schooling! I always assumed that because I have broad shoulders I could do without shoulder pads. Now I see how drastically they improve the shape of the piece. I guess I shouldn't have disregarded what I thought was just an unnecessary step.

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  18. Wow, I've never heard of sleeveheads...most of my sewing is little children's outfits; haven't tried anything for myself. Your suit looks wonderful!

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  19. hmmmm...I'm confused about the backward-y-ness of it...

    like, wouldn't you see the edge of the sleeve head if it was flipped the other way?

    I think I'd totally need a visual of the "right" way to do it to grasp the diference.

    not that I can see myself using them - my shoulders are pretty square and broad and pointy as it is!

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  20. There's information on sleeve heads here: http://www.uniquepatterns.com/education/sewing-insider/72 (it includes how to make a pattern for one too) you needs to scroll down the page a little bit until you get to the section called "Sleeve Heads for Smooth Sleeve Caps".

    Plus there's a nice photo from Sew4Fun on PatternReview.com of her own homemade sleeve heads too :)

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  21. Great topic!

    I make sleeveheads, of shorts, on every blouse I make. I finish my armhole seams by encasing both together into bias strips and press that toward the sleeve. It gives pretty firm support to the shoulder and a nice, clean finish to the seams.

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  22. Opps, the 1st link in my comment (above) didn't work here it is again:
    Sleeve Heads for Smooth Sleeve Caps.

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  23. Do you find that the sleeve head is visible when you wear your dress? I have a jacket with sleeve heads and they appear visible through the wool suiting fabric. Any suggestions?

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  24. Brilliant! I love shoulder pads, but sometimes they're just too :/ These look PERFECT. I don't understand that you have them backwards, they look great the way they are. :D Thanks! ps: found you from Pinterest

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Thanks for your comments; I read each and every one! xo Gertie

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