The fitted sleeve is commonly used on suits, coats, and shirts due to its professional and natural look. The top of the sleeve is larger than the armhole opening to facilitate movement at the shoulder. Two rows of stitches are used to gather the fabric, and the pleats are attached to the armhole seam.
A fitted sleeve is “set” into the armhole of a garment at or near the natural edge of the shoulder. The fitted sleeve is the most commonly used sleeve on suits, coats and shirts due to its professional and natural look. The fitted sleeve can lie flat, as on a man’s suit and dress shirt, or it can be drawn together to pucker and rise above the garment at the shoulder, as it would on a girl’s dress.
Whether the finished sleeve seam lies flat or is widely gathered for a puffed look, the top of the sleeve is actually larger than the armhole opening. This makes it easier to fit the garment over the arm and facilitates movement at the shoulder. The extent to which the top of the sleeve is larger than the armhole determines how high the sleeve rises on the garment, if at all. In either case, the top of the sleeve is gathered with stitches that are used to pull the fabric into small, evenly distributed gathers that allow the top of the sleeve to fit exactly into the armhole opening. These stitches will not show on the finished garment, as they are made slightly into the seam.
To sew a fitted sleeve, the sleeve seams are first sewn together, pressed, trimmed, and turned right side out. Then, two rows of stitches are made at the top, the curved edge of the sleeve, inside the seam line: two rows of stitches, rather than just one, allow for more control when bringing the stitches together. These rows of stitches are then gently pulled at one end to “gather” the fabric slightly, easing the stitches so that the resulting small pleats are evenly distributed across the top of the sleeve.
Once the sleeve opening is the same size as the armhole opening, the two are attached with the small pleats firmly held in place. The armhole seam is then sewn, paying particular attention to ensure that the pleats remain identical in size and that the fabric does not fold back on itself, which would make an unwanted noticeable crease or crease on the outside of the armhole seam. armhole. When finished, the garment is turned inside out and the fitted sleeve is pressed out at the seam to create the finished look. A contrast to the fitted sleeve is the raglan sleeve, where the sleeve seam sits below the natural shoulder line, giving a more relaxed, looser, less tailored look.
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