Sewing in sleeves is part of making any self-sewn top. But what do you need to pay attention to when setting in sleeves? We’ll provide you with tips, tricks, and guidance.
The most important things at a glance
- In this post, you’ll learn how to set in sleeves open and closed
- I’ll also show you how to sew in a raglan sleeve
- You’ll get tips on how to prepare the armhole properly
- You’ll learn how to cut out the sleeve without mistakes
- We’ll talk about inserting and sewing in the sleeve
- You’ll get information on ironing the sleeve
Why is sewing in sleeves so difficult?
It’s not just beginners who find themselves reaching for the seam ripper with frustrating regularity when setting in sleeves—it happens to even seasoned professionals. But what exactly is the challenge when setting in sleeves? There can be several reasons:
- The shoulder seams are often not the same length and are poorly finished
- The sleeve cap may have extra width that needs to be “captured”
- The armhole can become unstable, for example when cut on the bias in woven fabrics
- You may not have paid attention to the notches and markings
- You may have set in the sleeve open when a closed approach would have been better
- You may be working on the armhole side rather than the sleeve
- You may not have ironed the seam allowances correctly
- You may have made pattern corrections to the armhole but not accounted for them in the sleeve cap
YouTube tutorial for setting in sleeves
Have you ever cursed and sworn while setting in sleeves? Welcome to the club. Sewing in sleeves isn’t actually that difficult if you pay attention to a few things. Let’s take a closer look at how to set in a sleeve correctly and what you need to keep in mind. The more precisely you work here, the less often you’ll need to reach for the seam ripper—I promise. Here are the 10 most common mistakes when setting in sleeves.
When is a sleeve sewn in open or closed?
This decision depends primarily on the shape of the sleeve. As a rule of thumb, the more rounded the sleeve cap is, the more likely you should be to sew in the sleeve closed. Think, for example, of a sharply tailored blazer that fits close to the body. In that case, I would sew in the sleeve closed.
On the other hand, think of a kimono with a wide sleeve cap and dropped shoulders—in that case, I would sew in the sleeve open. But with most tops and jackets, both methods are possible. It also depends on your experience and the fabric.
With jersey pieces, both methods are usually fine anyway.
Which way is the front when sewing in sleeves?
Sleeves follow the anatomy of the human body. That’s why the more rounded side of the sleeve always faces the front of the garment. Pattern pieces often have two notches on the front of the sleeve and only one notch on the back. You’ll usually find these notches on the armhole as well. The notches and markings on the sleeve and armhole should match up.
How do you sew in sleeves?
Place the sleeve right sides together against the arm opening. The markings on the front of the sleeve should match up with the markings on the front armhole. The shoulder marking (at the highest point of the sleeve cap) should match up with the shoulder seam. The back sleeve marking should match up with the back armhole marking.
Sewing in sleeves: How to set in a sleeve open
With the open approach, the sleeve is sewn in without first closing the sleeve edges. Here is my guide on how to set in a sleeve open. The pattern is the Rosario blouse from my book "Sewing My Favorite Tops"*.
In this version, the shoulder edges are closed first.
If your top has a facing, you can sew it in before setting in the sleeves.
The less fabric there is moving around under the sewing machine, the more relaxed the sewing will be. ;)
Now you need the sleeve pattern piece.
If the sleeve cap has a lot of extra width due to its curve and/or the armhole is unstable, you can reinforce both beforehand with a strip of G785 interfacing* or H609*.
Both iron-on interfacings are lightweight and bi-stretch, so they can be used with both stretch and non-stretch fabrics.
Place the sleeve right sides together into the armhole.
If your sleeve has extra width that makes it difficult to fit together, you can reduce the excess width at the relevant points with a light gathering stitch on the overlocker. To do this, set the differential feed to 1.3–1.5.
But first, test it on a sample piece to see if reducing the width has the desired effect.
When setting in the sleeve, make sure the front marking also faces the front of the garment. The highest point of the sleeve cap should be on the shoulder seam.
Sew in the sleeve with a straight stitch and a 1 cm seam allowance. If your top is made of jersey, you can also work wonderfully with the overlocker here.
Finish the armhole seam allowance and press it into the sleeve.
Now close the sleeve and side seams in one go.
This is what the finished result looks like: the Rosario blouse in all its beauty.
Sewing in sleeves: How to set in a sleeve closed
In this guide, we’ll look at how to set in a sleeve closed. Many beginners shy away from this version, but it’s probably even easier than the open version because a closed sleeve is easier to handle. The closed version is ideal for woven fabric tops, especially when, as with the Mint tunic in my top book, the side seam has been moved forward to ensure a great fit. Here’s how to proceed with the closed version:
Close the shoulder and side seams.
Finish the seams with the overlocker or a zigzag stitch on your sewing machine.
Tip: To prevent the shoulder seams from adding bulk, you can also iron them into the back piece and topstitch the seam allowances close to the fabric.
Close the sleeve edges right sides together with the specified seam allowance.
Then finish the seam allowances here as well.
Important: Mark the left and right fabric sides on the sleeve pattern pieces beforehand. Also transfer the markings for the sleeve cap, side seams, and front and back pieces. Then nothing can go wrong. :)
Place the sleeves right sides together into the armholes.
It is important that the front sleeve marking matches up with the front armhole marking. The marking for the highest point of the shoulder should be on the shoulder seam.
This way, you secure the sleeve all around.
My tip: Feel free to use plenty of sewing pins here; this will stabilize the fabric edge and make sewing easier.
Sew the sleeves in with a 1 cm seam allowance and then finish the seam allowances.
Work on the sleeve side here too, not on the armhole side.
Now the sleeves are in, and you can finish your top.
Special case: sewing in raglan sleeves
What's special about raglan sleeves? They don't have the rounded arm cap of classic sleeves. The cut lines of raglan sleeves are almost straight. Okay, there might be a little rounding depending on the cut. But overall, the shoulder rounding is built into the sleeve itself, not the seam.
This makes patterns with raglan sleeves a perfect beginner project. Let's take a look at how a raglan sleeve is sewn in.
With the raglan sleeve (left in the image), the sleeve edge is often rounded inward, while the armhole edge is rounded outward.
The upper rounded edge of the sleeve pattern piece is the future neckline.
Place the sleeve and bodice edges together, right sides facing eachright.
And of course, you do this on both sides. And also on the back piece.
And of course, you do this on both sides. And also on the back piece.
Sew the sleeve edges together with the overlocker or sewing machine.
Then the sleeve and side edges are pressed together and sewn.
This is what it should look like now.
Now the collar can be sewn into the neckline.
The typical raglan sleeve seams are clearly visible here.
And this is the finished ROMEA sweatshirt dress in all its glory. By the way, the cut is also available as a paper pattern.
Mistake No. 1: Shoulder cuts not correctly handled
Not all patterns have identical front and back shoulders. Often, especially with woven fabric patterns, the back shoulder is cut wider. This is because the human body usually has a slight curve at the shoulder blade.
How to avoid this mistake
It is important to account for the width of the back shoulder without pulling or tugging at the front shoulder. The best way is to simply interline the front shoulder with fusible interfacing (you can find my suggestions for this in the instructions above). This stabilizes its shape. Petra from Schnitt Happens puts it this way: "The front shoulder determines the shape."
When sewing together, you can then gently push the extra length of the back shoulder into the seam.
Mistake No. 2: The armhole is unstable
Especially with woven fabric, the armhole can fray at the fabric edges and become unstable due to the bias cut of the edges. Too much trying on and handling is also bad for bias-cut edges. But we wouldn't be SewSimple if we didn't have a little trick for that!
How to avoid this mistake
Before sewing in the sleeve, you can also interline the fabric edge of the armhole with interfacing so that the bias edges keep their shape. Schnitt-Direktrice Petra from Schnitt Happens recommends tracing the shape of the interfacing from the pattern. Just imagine you wanted to sew a very narrow facing. Cut the interfacing about 1-1.5 cm wide, iron it on without moving the iron back and forth too much, and then let the fabric cool down completely. Now you can sew in the sleeve.
Mistake No. 3: Excessively cut sleeve length
Does the sleeve of your favorite piece need to be extended a little? Or do you want to add an extra hem where none was planned? It's actually no problem. Unless you simply extend the sleeve along the cut. Then the sleeve can end up too tight at the bottom and hemming can become a nightmare. I like to call this phenomenon the schoolbag scenario.
How to avoid this mistake
Mirror the lower sleeve hem. Here's how:
- Tape a piece of paper under the sleeve hem
- Transfer the old hem line to the paper
- Fold the pattern over the hem line
- Draw the cut mirrored on the other side
- And make it as high as your hem should be, e.g. 2-3 cm
Mistake No. 4: Sleeve does not sit correctly in the armhole
You may have already noticed how difficult it is to transfer markings after moving a pattern piece. Or that the cut edges are unstable. Then it can happen that the sleeve does not meet the correct markings on the armhole. Result: The entire sleeve may be sewn in inside out or not sit as well as it could.
How to avoid this mistake
You should transfer the markings for front and back as well as for the shoulder point before moving the pattern piece, if possible. For example, if you cut both sleeves in double fabric and transfer the markings directly with small snips inside the seam allowance, you can be sure that everything is correct and the markings are symmetrical.
This is what markings on the sleeve look like:
The side with the two snips is sewn to the front piece, while the side with the single snip faces the back piece. The upper marking, which shifts depending on the pattern size, lies on the shoulder seam.
Mistake No. 5: Right and left fabric sides were swapped
Do you know that feeling when you put on your new top and somehow feel that something is wrong with the sleeve? This can be because the right and left fabric sides were swapped on solid-colored fabrics. It can also be really hard to tell sometimes.
How to avoid this mistake
Transfer the markings for the right and left fabric sides to the fabric when cutting. This is especially important with solid-colored fabrics.
Mistake No. 6: What to do with the extra width?
Due to the rounding of the arm cap, sleeves often have more width than the armhole. And physiologically, they need that width because we have rounded shoulders. So the width should remain at the sleeve cap, while the fabric should lie beautifully flat on the shoulder. That is why sometimes the extra width is pushed back and forth during sewing. The result is that the sleeve does not have a proper fit. You can tell this, for example, by the fact that it pulls at the arm cap.
How to avoid this mistake
Reduce the extra width slightly by gently gathering the fabric of the arm cap with the overlocker. For this, set the differential to 1.3-1.5, depending on the rounding of the arm cap.
If you don't have an overlocker, simply sew two parallel seams next to the fabric edge with the largest stitch length and leave the threads long at the front and back. Then you can push the fabric edge together at the right places. And do this directly when sewing in the sleeves.
Reading tip: Gathering, ruching, and easing fabric – here's how
Mistake No. 7: Fabric is not distributed evenly in the armhole
"A well-sewn sleeve must fall smoothly like a chimney pipe", says Petra from Schnitt Happens. If this is not the case with your top (especially if it is made of woven fabric), then something is wrong. Maybe it is because you pressed and sewed on the armhole side, not on the sleeve side.
How to avoid this mistake
Insert the sleeve with the top edge lying flat against the armhole. This gives you full control over how much of the extra width is positioned where on the armhole.
Mistake No. 8: No motivation to check?
If your sleeve doesn't seem to fit into the top properly, you should check again whether it was really sewn in the right way around. And whether the markings were transferred correctly. To do that, you'll have to rip it out again.
How you can avoid this mistake
A good way to check the fit of the finished sleeve is to baste it into the armhole. You can use basting thread and baste it by hand. Or you can sew the sleeve in with a long stitch length using the sewing machine. Then you can try out whether everything is sitting correctly and subsequently sew the final seam.
Mistake No. 9: Sleeve sewn in closed/open
Petra says in our podcast: Not all sleeves should be sewn in open, even if that looks easier for some beginners. With the closed version, adjusting the width (also at the side seams) is much easier.
How you can avoid this mistake
Familiarize yourself with the technique of sewing sleeves in closed. It really isn't difficult. Above in the post, I show you step by step how that works.
I hope this post has helped you. Feel free to write your questions and suggestions to me in the comments. Or share your experiences with me. I look forward to hearing from you.
Happy simple sewing, your Sabine
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