Just a little filler sewing project (definition: when you find a random fabric piece at home and must use it) - ft. experimentation with circular sleeves. Ended up being a remarkably easy way to do sleeves quickly! Loose inspiration here - though skipped the low back for office appropriate-ness..
Tutorials take a lot of time & effort to create, and I choose to make mine available for free. If you enjoy this guide, you can support me with a donation that feels right for you, here.
TOOLS:
Fabric, 1.5 m (I got away with 1m but 1.5 is safer, I used a soft 100% cotton) | Scissors | Pins | Sewing machine, thread & needle | Optional: bias tape (for neckline and hemming sleeves)
I. Here are some indicative measurements for my cut top pieces (I'm still a EU36/US4):
II. First did flat-felled seams at the shoulders. Then finished the neckline using the bias tape method I've detailed here.
III. Then cut out my sleeves. Super easy: kind of like cutting out a piece for a quarter-circle skirt. Used the trusty By Hand London calculator to plug in my arm hole length as the waist circumference, with the quarter option selected. My arm hole total length was 48 cm, so I got a circle radius of 29.5cm or so. Just drew that from the corner of the fabric, and then a second quarter-circle to mark the desired length of the sleeve. For me that was 24 cm.
IV. Then pinned the sleeves to the arm holes, right sides facing, and sewed in place.
Here's a closer look at the finished neckline as well.. Hand-sewed the bias tape on the reverse.
V. Next pinned the under arm seams and the sides and sewed those..
VI. And finally, after trying the top on, adjusted the sleeve shape a little by cutting a slice off. This way the sleeve hems ended up looking parallel to the ground when worn.
VII. Final note: here's my lazy seam sewing, when I can't be bothered by flat-felled seams everywhere. First just a regular stitch, then zig-zag the seam allowance on reverse, press it flat towards the back piece of the garment, and on the right side, add another stitch next to the first one.
Here's what it looks like on the reverse. Nice and flat, but not too time consuming.
Lastly just hemmed the sleeves using the same bias tape method as for the neckline. The hem of the shirt itself I just double-folded.
xo,
Julia
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