sleeves: quick n' dirty vs. "the right way"

set-in sleeves: flat vs. round
There are two ways to set in sleeves, one is easier than the other. I thought I'd show you both for today's sewing 101 lesson. 

"the right way": in the round

Setting sleeves in in the round, is harder for me than sewing them in flat. I always end up with little pleats that have to go and take out later. It is also hard to get your sleeve to match your sleeve hole because fabric stretches when you pull it! 


I'm calling this "the right way" because it will give your clothing higher quality. A sleeve sewn in the round wears better than one sewn in flat.


How to: To sew a sleeve in in the round, sew up your garments side seams and shoulder seams. Sew up your sleeves side seam. The sleeves can be the last thing you do on your piece. 


Ease stitching alert! By ease stitching your sleeve and stay-stitching your sleeve opening you will prevent both from stretching all over the place, which often causes them to not fit correctly and you may end up with little pleats. Ease stitching uses the widest stitch length on your machine (like basting). Stay stitching is just a normal stitch. You only need to do these between the notches on your sleeve and opening.

Sew up your sleeves and finish the seams.

Turn your garment inside out, but leave your sleeve right side out. Stick it in the sleeve hole and pin in all around. 

If you need to, pull your ease stitching a little to adjust the fit of the sleeve into the sleeve opening.

Then sew it up! That's it, really! But you should go and check out your sleeve, make sure it's smooth without tucks or pleats. The press it. Finish your seam however you want. It sounds simple but I've pulled out hair over sleeves before. Ease and stay stitching take more time but are totally worth it!

...........

quick n' dirty: flat

This method is pretty quick compared to sewing in the round. You don't have to ease stitch, although you can. I always get fast and nice results from sewing sleeves in flat. 


How to: Sew your shoulder seams together, but leave your side seams open. 

Then pin your sleeve in, without sewing it together yet.

Sew your sleeve into the opening. You see why it is called the flat method? No round seams that cause trouble!

It will look like this:

Then pin up your side. The dress should be inside out.

Sew it up, pivoting where your sleeve starts. You'll just do one long flat stitch from the bottom to the end of the sleeve. Then finish your seam. Easy!

So, if you want to save yourself some stress, setting your sleeve in flat is a super easy way to make everything fit. Working with tubes on a sewing machine often causes those little hiccups and pleats that we don't want, so working flat eliminates a lot of those problems. When all is said and done, they look exactly the same. 

When you need it, this lesson will be on the sewing 101 page along with more tips.


So how do you typically sew sleeves in??