Transcripts
1. Hi there! : Hi there, My name is Marcy and I teach garment construction using the couture techniques that I learned in fashion school. Today I'm very excited to teach you a sleeve insertion technique. You will never find in any purchase pattern. In the beginning of the course that I took, there were many students who had never sung before and they embraced this technique without much difficulty. So I'm going to start by explaining to you the anatomy of the sleeve, which I think will really help you understand what some people may find difficult about putting one in. But as I'll show you in the video, it's not that hard. So let's get started.
2. Background and Anatomy : Whether you're a beginner sewer or an experienced solar. Something I discovered that I think would be beneficial for you to know is the connection between the sleeves and the bodice that you're putting this leaves into. When I learned what I'm about to teach you. I looked back and realized that for the years before I studied fashion and I was following patterns with their step-by-step process. I was blindly following the directions and there wasn't any background understanding about why I was doing what I was doing. So I'm going to start with the background information of the pattern drafting process that I think will deepen your understanding. Let's get started. In a previous video called altcoin pattern dark like this. I went over the way pattern pieces are developed by showing the first day with is always the creation of a bond. If block, the bottom block is the portion of the body from the neck to the waist. And it's like a second skin with a bit of ease added in. Using a standard set of measurements or your own. You follow a step-by-step process and end up with the bodice, front and back being joined at the side feet. As you see in the image here. The horseshoe shape in the middle is the space where the sleeve will fit. That is called the arm thigh. Basically it's the arm hole. After each piece is separated, they look like the pieces on the right in this slide, using measurements from the arm psi, I showed that the fleet is created. On the left you can see the dotted line, which can be a little confusing. So I clarified some details in the image on the right. The next slide shows on the left the bodice block, arm hole close-up. And on the right you can see how the sleeve is built using measurement from dot arm hole. The next slide shows the sleeve with some of the lines erased and the important point, like the notches in red, the center line becomes the grain line, which is what you match to the length wise fibers in the fabric. If it doesn't match the grain line, the sleeve will be all wonky. In this slide, I show the arm hole on the left and the sleeves built from the measurement from the right. And in the middle, I show you how to measure an arm hole, placing the measuring tape on its edge and carefully going from the shoulder point of the back to the shoulder point of the front. And finally, I'm talking about the anatomy of the sleeve. I point out in yellow, that's the head of this leave the body of the sleeve. What I want to point out is that the measurement of the arm hole and the head of the sleeve or exactly the same. In fact, for years, I didn't know why it was so challenging. But I realized while teaching that because the pattern instructions telling you to gather the head of the sleeve between the knotted. It can give the impression there is extra fabric to gather, but that's not true. Few measure all around both. You'll find they are exactly the same. The only reason you have to gather is because you're working on a semicircle and putting it into a curve. I'm going to show you something in the next video. As I said before in my video called All sewing patterns start like this. The fluorescence bread method is used when changing the original pieces to create design. In the middle image, you can see that the spread is done at the top of the fleet to create a gathered or puffed 3. This can only be found by using the gathering sticks. But the next far right image shows the opposite where the spread is at the Him and in the body to create a bell fleet. But the top of the sleeve hasn't changed. So you can use the bias method that I'm about to show you. I drew an image of the jacket. I saw it recently in blue jean fabric with a belt flee to portray the fleet head without any gathers. Meet me in the next video where I go over samples of gathering sleeve.
3. Gathering Technique: So here we have two pieces of fabric. And if it's the side seams of a pair of pants or address, you're just going to sew them together. And it's easy, right? There's no problem. You don't even have to think about it because they're both the same same length, but there also a straight line. It's a straight seam. I remember when I was learning sewing in grade school that the first thing that we learned was that two lines of basting stitches parallel to each other allowed you to gather the fabric. And usually we were making an apron. So it's easy to think that every time you use a gathering stitch, you are gathering a large amount of fabric. But I finally realized when I measured the curved edge on the sleeve head and the arm hole, that sometimes a gathering stitch is not gathering a whole lot of fabric. It's just being used to put a curved edge or a curved seem into a street scene. Which is why the method that I cheat you using bias state. And the rest of the video works just as well. Actually it works better as you will see. At the moment. I'm just gathering using my bad, My gathering stitches. And you can see that I have gathered the thread using the bobbin thread, which is the looser thread usually so it's on the bottom and you leave a long thread before you cut it off from the machine. Then you pin it to the straight piece of fabric, moving it along and kind of making it straight, even though it's curved. You're making it straight as you go. And then you'll sew it right on the five-eighths of an inch seam allowance. Removing the pins as you go. And you can use a larger pin to push the fabric along as you continue to even out the gathers before you sew them down. And you can see that without pressing, it still looks pretty good. It doesn't look like there's any major tux or pleats that I created with it. And actually pressing it is the final step which you will see in the video, or actually I'm putting in a sleeve. But for now, you can see that this is what the gathering technique is. I did it again with another piece of fabric. And you can see that it isn't as good that there are a lot of pleats in it. You would probably have to pick out the bits of it where you've pressed fabric down and actually made a tucker a plead out of it. So it's kinda why I don't really like the gathering technique, but it's also why the bias method, which I'm about to show you is so awesome.
4. Bias Tape Preparation: Welcome to my buyer, incursion introduction. Before I get to that, I would like to clarify that there are two different ways to put a sleeve and a garment. The set in cleave where the shoulder seam and the side seam of the garment or sewn together as well as the under arm theme of the sleeve is sewn together. And then you connect them by matching the notches and the shoulder point with the head of the sleeve and the under arm themes. Not as easy to solve it in this way. I much prefer the plot sleeve insertion method, which is much more open. You can see that you only saw the shoulder seams gathered and you put the head of the sleeve in the arm hole and then you show all of the seamed together. So you saw the sleeve underarm together and then you go sort of around the corner and you just go up the side seam of the garment as well. It's so much easier to use that method. It may be that your pattern tells you to always use the sudden fleet, but I believe you always have that option. In order to prepare could do this as a sample. I made a PDF of a bark front and back and that are provided. I made sure that they fit on an 8.5 by 11 paper so that it's easy for you to print them out. The front didn't quite fit. So I pick about an inch and a half off of the center fold. That won't affect the area at all. Later, when I took this example, could put the favorites on the front and the back. I will adjust for the front at that time as well. At that time, I will provide the PDF for you. So for example, in a binder like if you want with the note guide provided. These are just some of the examples are made in such a benefit to have them to refer to. I doubt the pieces in scrap fabric and mark the notches. Earlier in my video, sewing without reading a pattern, I introduced the task to place a piece of masking tape on the wrong side of each pattern piece as soon as you cut them out and write the initials of the piece on it. For example, BS for bodice front or BB for bodice back. If you are using a fabric that is difficult to tell the right and wrong side of the fabric. This will help a lot. It'll also let you get into the habit of keeping track of the right and the wrong side, the pattern pieces while you're working with them, because you're most often working on Inside the wrong side of the garment pieces. So you want to get used to seeing that masking tape. Now you can ready your iron on a theme setting. The first thing we're going to do is cut a piece of contracting bias tape and press it with the iron. Tried to avoid stretching it too much while you're pressing and pressing means mixing up the iron and putting it down and lifting it up and putting it down. We want to keep the stretch that in the biased paid for when we're applying it to the fleet. Make sure that your shoulder themes are sewn together and that the edges are clean finished with your choice of either a zigzag or a third stick. Put your stitch length to a basting stitch or a long step and anchor the buyer, tape out the first not with a pen. And then throw a few thickness and begin to stretch the bias along the same line as your fill it on. When you read the other, not leave a long thread and cut it. Pin lead into the arm hole by pruning it at the beginning edge. At the notches on the front and the back. The shoulder seam point. And putting a couple more pin between node spot. Maybe in the next video where we'll throw it into the flink.
5. Sew Sleeve to Armhole: Return your machine to a regular stitch, whatever your preference is, 2.5 or even three is good. Backstitch at the beginning and remove the pins as you go. Ease the fabric under the foot using a long pin for assistance. By kind of pushing the fabric towards the foot. You may have to stop and start in order to ensure you aren't sewing any folds of fabric or you're not getting fabric from underneath caught patients is definitely important. And for me, this is where the Zen of sewing comes in. When you get into it, you're not thinking about anything else in the world. You're in the zone. And I encourage you to not fret too much because it might appear that you're sewing over too many folds. But I've found it surprising every time that this method works really well. And it's not what it seems to be as I'm sewing. Just wait till you get to the end before judging that it's a good job or not. Sometimes the folds can even be straightened out with your finger. And actually nothing is really determined till you press the scene because most of it can be fixed with steam. I have had to go back, take out a small section and read it, but then that is sufficient. So don't worry too much until you get to the end. And now let's see how it turned out. Look on the outside here to see if there's any talks or folds. Looks like there's only one tiny spot. And I think I'll be able to move the fabric and straighten it out underneath the stitch and pressing will help. Now, let's remove the bias tape. What you have to remove the bias tape. That's what I asked my teacher. I was so surprised. But I think it's because it prevents a lot of extra bulk in the scene and it won't lie flat because the bias tape actually goes on both sides of the scene. So if you were going to try to press it, then it wouldn't be rolling over really well. So let's just watch how easily it comes out. Cut really close to one side, and then pull the tape away from the other side. Sometimes you have to go in and cut it again on the side that still has some because it might get stuck. But because it's on the bias, it's really easy to remove it. After you finish. You can remove the basting stitch. If it shows on the outside. It's easy to see here which stitch it is. And it's actually a really good idea to use a contrasting color for the basting stitch because it makes it really easy to differentiate between the regular stitch and the basting stitch. I didn't do that. Mark pattern will tell you to finish theme by going parallel to the first theme about a quarter of an inch your way, than by trimming the theme quote to the thickening. It's rare that you will be asked to third or cream couldn't yet meet me in the neck part where I show you using a garment I made for myself, how to use a ham for profit. And we'll see the result of a beautiful Kircher, clean.
6. "Hams" are for Sleeves: This is your ham wall on one side. Got cotton on the other. It's got a slim end and it's got a wider end. I've placed my ham at the edge of the small side of your ironing board. And I've put my sleeve over there. You can see how beautiful. See that there's no gathers in there. With this bias tape technique. I'm just going to make sure that I turn the seam allowance. You can see if I press that with my finger here, that seam allowance is pushed to the inside. Is that not beautiful? But that it's absolutely perfect as we observe the beauty of the leaf, I just would like to tell you a little bit about the, about ironing and pressing. So ironing is a term that a housewife use to use to explain that she might be ironing her husband's shirts. This was what I remembered when I was a little girl that I helped my mother. She taught me how to iron. But when I studied fashion design, they taught us that pressing is what you use when you're doing couture, which is creating your own garments that you've made using the finest technique. So when you choose an iron, when you're going to be doing home sewing, you really want to find an iron that allows you to have the most amount of steam are found. One called ROE went up. I think it cost caused me a lot of money, like baby, a $150 or something. But it has a beautiful dial in here for the amount of steam. And a doll along the top. That tells me how much steam. And because I'm going to be using just the steam to press this sleeve at the head that I've turned up the dials to the highest amount of steam, going to give it a little bit of a shot, see if I can't get it to give me a path of steam. So I know it's ready. Now that my steam is ready, I'm going to try and show you with fairly good lighting, how to steam this sleeve. So you're, you're basically just going to place the iron here and let the steam work gently, put it on the top, give it some steam, you press it, you lift it up, you put it down. Let the steam do the work. Don't really rub it anywhere. You just put it up and put it down. Just let the steam do the work. Never rub it back and forth. If you rub it back and forth, what happens is that you can create a sheen on fabric that you won't get out. Alright, so that's the difference between ironing and pressing. And this is the beauty of the bias method, couture technique, sleeve insertion. Try it and let me know how much you love it.
Marcy Newman, SewwwMuchMore!
