Marg asked me to tell more about tight-fitting sleeve with widest range of movement.

So, here goes.

Before I begin, did you know that the total ease consists of two parts?

It consists of

• Technical ease, which  provides necessary room for your body to move and breathe and

• Decorative ease, which is used to obtain desired fit of the garment.

Decorative ease amount changes, technical ease does not.

And now about the sleeve.

Tight fitting sleeve has ease of

• 2-3.5 cm for dresses,

• 3.5-5.5 cm for light jackets and

• 5.5-7 cm for coats.

This means you have to measure your arm at the widest point and then add ease. This will give you the final width of the sleeve.

If you already have the sleeve pattern and you just want to check if it is tight enough for you, measure the pattern at the widest point here

and compare it to your “Arm measurement+ease” calculation.

You can adjust the width of the sleeve, but be mindful of its connection with sleeve cap height. You have to lower the sleeve cap as you add to the sleeve width to preserve the sleeve cap length. Learn how to do it Here

Minimum ease for Armscye depth is

• 1-1.5 cm for dresses and blouses
• 2.5-3 cm for jackets and
• 2.5-3.5 cm for coats.

This means that you have to measure your Armscye depth like so

and add your chosen ease amount to this measurement.

You can also find standard Armscye depth measurements in table here

If you already have a pattern and you want to know if the scye is adequate or not, measure it here

.
then compare it to your “Armscye depth measurement+ease” calculation.

The armscye depth ease also depends on the type of the fabric you are using. For lighter fabrics you can go for less ease, for heavier ones you will need more.

Marg, I hope this is what you wanted! :) Feel free to ask questions

Here is the question I hear often: “What is the armscye? Is there a difference between armscye and armhole?”

This gave me an idea for this post.
An armscye is the opening for your arm. Armscye and armhole are the same thing.

Armscye has a few characteristics:

• Length ( can be measured with a flexible ruler )
• Height – measured vertically. Can be adjusted depending on your design or fit preferences
• Width – measured horizontally

Armscye length depends on its depth and width measurements.

First comes bodice, then comes sleeve. Sleeve cap measurements are in direct connection with the bodice armscye measurements.

Sleeve cap characteristics are:

• Sleeve cap height determines how fitted the sleeve is going to be. The higher the sleeve cap, the tighter is the fit and the bigger is your arm movement range ( I know, it sounds mutually exclusive, but it is true ).
• Sleeve width is set by you depending on your sleeve fit preference. The width equals Arm girth measurement + sleeve ease.
• Sleeve cap length. Possibly the trickiest part. Sleeve cap length equals the Armscye length plus sleeve cap ease. Sleeve cap ease depends on design of your garment and the fabric you are using. Some lighter fabrics can’t take much ease without puckering, but thicker coating can take much more ease and can be handled very successfully.

More on sleeve ratios and norms here

Sleeve length depends on the sleeve width and the sleeve cap height. The connection is very exact, so all sleeve head adjustments have to be planned and calculated, and then compared to the Armscye. Any change will affect fit and appearance of your sleeve, so pay close attention to all the measurements.