Hi everyone,

Does anyone have any tips to give this very rusty sewing skills person any tips on setting in sleeves?

I gather, pin and baste before I sew but I still, always have to unpick sections and resew because of gathers. Whilst my sewing skills have improved in other areas this I seem to be stuck here.

Is this just something that comes with practice?

Any magic wands about ?

Teresa

I do not sew the side seam before inserting the sleeve. I sew it in "Flat" which gives me better control over the easing.

Teresa, if you trying to set in sleeves without any gathers then the best thing I have found is to use 1/4 inch clear elastic and sew it into the sleeve cap and it eases the sleeve just enough to fit in to the armhole. Works perfect everytime.

A very long time ago, my mom taught me that a sleeve cap would "full in" only on the bias: that means, you can avoid gathers by pinning about an inch and a half across the top (straight of grain) across the sleeve top directly into the top of the armhole, matching inch for inch, and do the same on the straight grain around the underarm seam. All the ease needs to be fulled into the bias side areas between these two straight-grain places. The rule? Straight grain matches inch for inch; bias eases in fullness. Good luck!

Teresa, one thing that works really well for me is to stitch at about 1/4 inch seam allowance from notch across top of sleeve to other notch and stitch while holding your thumb up against the back of your presser foot making the fabric pile up back there...release when you get an inch or so of "pile" and press again. This does not exactly "gather" it, but it will put in considerable ease. I like this technique if I am doing set in sleeves or the flat method where you leave the side seam open until last...it works great...if you don't get enough ease with regular size stitch, elongate your stitch slightly. This method never fails for me. Good luck! Michelle in Texas

I have found the technique taught by Margaret Islander and again by Sandra Bettzina which they call "ease plus" to be be very effective.

Ease plus is allowing rhe feed dogs to do the work.
You retard the shorter layer ( on top) and allow the dogs to walk the fabric on the bottom longer layer in "faster"

The way this is done is by inserting your index finger between the layers as you slowly sew around the cap, lifting the shorter layer with the index finger. That little bit of tension reduces the speed the top layer travels under the needle.
Takes practice!
I have also used a method where stretch chanel is applied, stretching the chanel but not stretching the sleeve.
takes practice!

Finally when I want it perfect I ease the line with a basting stitch, but hand baste it in place smoothing the gathers equally BUT never at the very top of the cap.

Practice sometimes makes perfect but my seam ripper is always near.

Sewing a bit more slowly so you stay in total control of the fabric layers helps.

I often remind myself this isnt a race..

Kaaren

First, the default sleeve cap ease in DS is rather high. I would go to "Sleeve" and reduce your cap ease to about .7 or .75 in blouse/dress-weight material. If you're making a jacket, you could make it closer to 1.0. There is much less material to ease in that way.

I usually run 3 rows of ease stitching at about 4.0 mm from notch to notch (and lowered tension) about 1/8" apart. One of these lines will show until pulled out, the other two are in the seam allowance. (Unless I have a fabric that will show the holes, then all are in the seam allowance.)

Take the bobbin threads and shorten the distance needed and then massage the ease with your fingers. Steam gently to eliminate any ripples. Now set in your sleeve.

Lani

Terry taught us a really efficient and successful way to insert a sleeve the "flat" way. As said previously, reduce the cap to .75. Pin the sleeve to the side seams up to the notches. Pin the center of the sleeve to the shoulder line. The bodice will be smaller than the sleeve. Now, WITHIN your seam allowance on the bodice, clip the fabric as you would on a curve. This will allow you to gently open the curve of the bodice to match the curve of the sleeve. Gently! When you get the sleeve and the bodice to match, stitch them together then stitch the side seam. Make a mockup on muslin and try this before you do it on your fashion fabric. Only twice in the past year has this not worked for me because of the personality of the fabric. Kelly

I've used this method for years:

1. serge the sleeve. Set the differential feed at 2.0 between the notches. This will give you a small, but very even, gather. The serged edge looks awful, but that's only temporary.

2. Sew the sleeve - I do the hem now too (I like getting to the end of a blouae and finding this is already done).

3. Pin the sleeve to the bodice, matching front and back notches as well as top and bottom. Pin again one more time between the notches and the top - so you have at least 6 pins.

4. Starting at the bottom, machine baste the sleeve to the bodice, using a slightly narrower seam allowance. Use your fingers on both sides of the stitching lines to shape the sleeve (smooth it out), so there are no puckers. Sew slowly, a few inches at a time. Stretch the bodice slightly to accomodate the extra fabric of the sleeve. Never skip this basting step.

5. Take a look at the right side. There should not be any puckers. Sew, using your normal seam allowance. Spread any gathering to make sure that the sleeve is smooth on either side of the shoulder seam - that's where any puckers would look the worst. Leave the basting stiches in, they will never show.

6. Serge the finished seam, nipping off just the first serge line. Use a ham to steam press the seam allowance into the sleeve cap.

Machines are different. When I had a viking, I put the sleeve on the bottom. But the feed dogs on my brother act different, and I need to put the sleeve on top - which I like better because its easier to smooth out the sleeve and avoid puckers.

I never have to fix a sleeve - using this method, there are no ;uckers.

[QUOTE]Originally posted by teresa pople:
Does anyone have any tips to give this very rusty sewing skills person any tips on setting in sleeves?

Hi Teresa,

A flat insertion (sleeve to bodice first; side seam/sleeve seam last) is generally easier to handle when you feel rusty. But whichever way you decide to insert, there's no law that says you have to pin the entire sleeve at once. As long as you've marked your notches and top mark for the shoulder seam, you can work on half of the sleeve at a time. If you're using a basting stitch, you can still gather notch-to-notch, or you can go notch-to-shoulder seam on the front of the sleeve, and the same thing on the back side. Especially with set-in sleeves, it can be a lot easier to work with half of it at once. If you choose to pin your "gathers", remember that lots of pins will help you keep the gathers evenly spaced. In that scenario, having only half of the sleeve pinned is a great help. HTH

Linda in VA