Personalizing Your Dress Through Sleeves:
The single biggest problem with using a pattern to create a renaissance dress is that when you go to the fair there are quite literally hundreds of dresses that are the exact same dress. Two patterns tend to rule the fairs... Simplicity 8881 and 2589. Simplicity 8881- (the infamous Shakespeare in Love pattern) has been declining in recent years since Simplicity discontinued it while 2589 became an instant favorite when most historical costumers hailed it for its accuracy. (It is a very good pattern) Fortunately, different colors, boarders, bead work, ribbons, laces, etc. make enough difference that no one feels like the duplicate dress on the red carpet; however, the dresses that really look unique all have one thing in common. They have adapted their sleeves
If you are a novice at sewing, changing a pattern can be terrifying. Patterns are safe, reliable, and they contain directions. For some, it is terrifying to break away. This tutorial will be a little more comfortable, because I will be showing you how to use sleeves from other patterns to create the look you want.
I was taught this method when I was first beginning to sew. My mother always combined pattern pieces to form the silhouette she wanted. I was surprised when I found out that most people don't know how to puzzle piece a dress together. If you are interested in learning the technique, the sleeves are a great way to start.
Okay, let's get started:
As in the previous posts, I am building this dress for my cousin Melissa. One of the requests she made was to have ribbon sleeves. Basically this is a exaggerated puff and slash sleeve.
Puff and Slash was a decoration that the Elizabethans took from German soldiers and basically made it theirs. The idea behind it was after you make a garment, you slash holes in it and pull the under-sleeve out through the hole, giving it a little puff. It is a time consuming process, because you have to finish every hole. I think Hollywood first came up with the idea of cutting the sleeve into strips, completely finished, and hooking them together. I really can't see any portraits of the time where I believe this was done. Though there are many people who will disagree.
In creating the silhouette for this dress, I wanted to do something that stepped outside of what I have already seen at the fairs. I knew I wanted to highlight the amazing red and gold fabric my cousin selected. Since I didn't use it on the bodice, the sleeves really needed to highlight the fabric. I also needed to tie in the sleeves with the outer dress. My cousin was clear that she didn't want the bell sleeves that came with the pattern I've been using (Simplicity 2589) so.... perfect time to teach puzzling in a sleeve.
I've selected two sleeves to insert into the dress:
The first is the skinny sleeve (one time called the cigarette sleeve) from Simplicity 8881. There is a problem with using this sleeve... and it brings up an important point: When puzzling a pattern together it is important to see how the sleeve is initially built. In this pattern there is a puff which connects the skinny sleeve to the bodice. This allows the arm to move. Without this piece it will be impossible to move the arm above the head. The adaptation is fairly easy. I'll explain how below.
The second is a ribbon sleeve I have always admired from the McCalls 4107 pattern.
I purchased this pattern a while ago when patterns were on sale. I specifically wanted this sleeve. It is also a bonus, because my cousin wanted wings off the shoulders. The wings exist in this sleeve---BONUS!
There are a couple problems with this sleeve as well-- 1. The ribbons in the pattern are actual ribbons. I'll have to make some ribbons out of the blue fabric for the dress. 2- If you look at the placement of the sleeve, you'll see that the shoulder is a separate piece from the rest of the bodice. That means a portion of the sleeve will be totally useless and I'll have to figure how to insert it into the armseye. Again, it is actually pretty easy, and I'll provide my tricks of the trade in this blog.
Shall we get to the fun?
The cutting table: Inner Sleeve
Ugg-- Looks like I deleted the cutting of the 8111 pattern piece. So I'll give you the basics. Look at the 8881 pattern vs a standard sleeve.
Notice the strange top on the one above. The roller coaster shape is designed to connect to the puff... The sleeve below is a standard sleeve shape. To make sure the person wearing the sleeve can move their arm properly, all you need to do is adapt the top of the pattern you will be using to have the arch that you see in the pattern below.
You may notice that the bottom of the patterns are basically the same. Technically I could have simply used the standard pattern shape above to create my skinny sleeve. However, I only retrieved it to explain how to adjust the sleeve. Live and learn. :)
Okay, so I cut the skinny sleeve out of the burgundy and gold fabric. I added a gold stripe of ribbon I bought at Joanne's fabric to give it even more contrast and sewed up the inner arm seam.
Note: Normally I would hem the cuff of the sleeve before I seamed the inner arm; however, since I will be sending this to my cousin in the mail, and it is important to have it fit correctly, I decided to leave it unfinished. But... it is much easier to do it before you sew the inner seam.
I french seamed the sleeve... which means I sewed down the seam once with the wrong sides together, then turned the sleeve and seamed it again with the raw edges encased inside the seam. It makes it finished and it looks more professional.
Puzzling Together the Outer Sleeve:
There are four pieces to the ribbon sleeve from Pattern 4107. For this dress I only need pattern pieces 12- the cuff, 8- the wing- and 11- which is the guide for the ribbons. The fourth pattern piece is the strap for the shoulder on the bodice. At this point, I'm going to set aside the directions for the bodice pattern.
Terrifying to some, but not really that difficult to do.
I know what the cuff is going to look like. The shoulder piece I was planning on adapting in anyway, and the ribbons I'm making rather than using ribbon-- so not so terrifying after all.
I cut out the shoulder and the cuff fabric and some interfacing to give it some strength. It is important to follow the arrow guide on the shoulder. I wasn't sure how I was going to work the stripes, so I followed the arrow. It ended up being fantastic The arrow will provide you with a nice look if you have a specific pattern to your material.
I'm only using the guide for the ribbons, right now to get the length I need. I want the ribbons to have some strength and presence. I also want them to follow the same look as the stripes on the dress.
The stripes on the fabric were about the same width as the stripes on the guide, so I cut out five pieces of fabric as long as the pattern guide. I made sure the dark blue was in the center and I cut an equal width on either side. Basically, I cut a light blue strip, a dark blue strip, and a light blue strip in one cut the length of the pattern guide.
Pinning the edges of each strip together I sewed a single seam down each ribbon.
I turned all of the ribbons inside out, pressed, and top stitched each ribbon. Leaving me with ten very nice ribbons for the sleeves. I could have at this point added embellishment such as a patterned ribbon down the center of each strip, but my cousin wants to bead her dress. I left it plain so she could do what she wanted with her sleeves.
Cuffs and Shoulders:
Using the ribbon guide, I laid all of the fabric strips and cut them to match the guide.
The shoulder wing was simple. After ironing on the interfacing, I pressed the sleeve in half and laid the ribbons out, pinned them in place along the curved edge of the sleeve, and sewed them in place.
It is important as you are doing this that you routinely pin the sleeves in place with the bodice to make sure you are getting the right look. I think of it as the same thing as cooking... When you cook you need to routinely taste your food. When sewing you need to routinely look at what you are making to verify it is turning out the way you want.
This also give you a way to start problem solving how you plan to put the rest of the dress together. As you can see at this point, I pinned the inner sleeves and the ribbons onto the dummy with the bodice and the underskirt. I haven't added the cuffs yet. I've decided that they will be added as one of the last things I do on this dress. I like the way the shoulders look and the look of the sleeves, so I'm ready to put them together with the bodice. At this point I had a brilliant idea about how to hide the seams. I will be sewing the inner sleeve to the lining and the outer sleeve to the bodice. That way the raw edges are in between the two.
Putting it all together:
First I pinned the inner sleeve into the lining. THIS IS IMPORTANT-- you need to make sure that you are pinning in the sleeve backward. Remember when you put the lining on the dressmaker's dummy or when you put it on yourself, the finished edges-- meaning the side without seams needs to be facing the dummy or your body.
The sleeve needs to be inside out and pinned, so it extends toward your body. That way when you pull the sleeve right side out, it is facing away from you. You will be pulling it through the bodice when you connect the bodice and lining together.
It may be when you insert your sleeve that the sleeve is too big for the armseye. That happens.
- If the sleeve is many inches wider than the arm opening, you will need to gather the sleeve. I suggest the top of the sleeve. If you do not want a puff, you can always pleat in the sleeve on the top. For a flat look make the top of the sleeve flat and add matching pleats on either side.
- If the sleeve only has one or two inches extra, you can ease the sleeve in. Easing means that you add a little extra fabric between each pin... as I have done in the picture above. I usually use the tip of my finger to add the extra fabric between pins. Provided you don't add too much fabric between pins, you won't get and folds or gathers.
The outer sleeve is a little more tricky. Folding the wing in half I found the center and pinned it onto the top of the bodice's armseye. Notice in the picture above that the wing does not fit the entire circumference of the opening. This is not a problem. Once I connect the bodice and the lining together I'll stitch the two together where these two connect.
The last job is to connect the bodice and the lining together... I'll explain this process in more detail in the next blog entry, but basically you pull the inner arm of the lining through the bodice opening, pin the lining to the bodice, and top stitch them together. I'll use bias tape to bind the edges, so it is finished.
The sleeves are finished by hand stitching the two together so the lining's raw edge and the bodice's raw edge are hidden between the two. I don't have a good picture of this, but once you put the two together you'll see where it needs to be done. I use a simple whip stitch to sew them together.
Whip Stitch:
- Make a knot in your thread.
- Using your fingers tuck the raw edge of the lining and the bodice toward one another.
- Pull the thread through and insert the needle again going in the same direction as you did when you inserted needle the last time.
- Continue until you have gone around the entire sleeve.
Adding the Cuff:
To make the cuff, first I pressed on the interfacing. With the wrong sides out, I sewed around three sides of the cuff-- the right side, the top edge of the cuff (the one that will be on the outside edge of the sleeve) and the left side together. Clipping the corners, I turned the cuff right side out and pressed it down. I like a finished edge, so I top stitched my seams.
Once that was done, I had to insert the ribbons. None of my pictures worked out the way I wanted... Flipping the cuff right side in again, I put the ribbons in place. If you made your strips the same size as the cutting guide, they will fit in the cuff perfectly. You may need to overlap. You want to make sure you slide down the non-interfaced side of the cuff away. This will fold over to encase the raw edges into the cuff when you turn the cuff right side out again.
Sew the ribbons onto the cuff.
Turn the cuff right side out again, tuck in the loose edge of the cuff, and top stitch it down.
I love how the sleeve turned out. The wing is amazing and was so easy to do, I plan to use it again to make the riding coat for my project that is on hold.
In the end it is a really beautiful look for the dress. I hope this tutorial helped you puzzle new sleeves into renaissance dresses. As always, if you have questions just ask. :)
Here is the finished dress minus hemming. I'll explain the skirt, bodice, and underskirt in upcoming blogs.
Cheers!
Katie
Catherine de Medici is credited with the creation of the corset. She used it as a tool to gain information via her Flying Squadron. (A group of beautiful young women who infiltrated the French nobility and reported back to her and problems that might upset her son's and more importantly her empire. The fashion of the time turned the woman's body quite literally into an hourglass. The farthingail (hoop-skirt) made the lower half of the body into a cone shape and the corset made the top half of the body into a cone shape as well. These two cones were connected by a very slender waist line, thus the hourglass shape. 
Rigiline or nylon boning is the modern version of boning. (Though if you buy a quality corset, it still has steel) Nylon is not strong enough to make a modern corset though it is perfectly fine for boning an Elizabethan bodice, provided you're not trying to change your shape too much. Mostly nylon boning is used in strapless gowns and lingerie to keep the bodice from changing its shape, folding, buckling, etc. Most mass manufactured dresses use it because it is inexpensive compared to steel boning. 
Answer: Boning comes in a coil or a loop. When you buy it it looks like a coil of fabric covered plastic. The fabric covering the boning can be black or white. I personally remove the covering, because I detest bulk. However you can choose to simply sew the casing of the boning to your lining or I suppose your bodice or dress (though the seams would drive me crazy). 
