Vogue 8346: View B - Part 5, Sleeve Heads

Today I want to talk about how I set in the sleeves on my coat.  The method I used was the bias strip method, which I've used before with great success.  The first time I can across this was on the Craftsy Starlet Suit Jacket class by Gretchen Hirsch.  I don't think this is available any more, but here's a video on how to do it from Gertie's Blog For Better Sewing. 

Here's a run through of what I did.  I cut two strips of my coat fabric on the bias, they're 2" wide and 12" long.

Fold the strips in half lengthwise, and mark the middle with a pin or a little snip with the scissors.

Pin the centre of the strip to the top of the sleeve head on the wrong side.  It's not very easy to see in this photo, but the strip is pinned to the point where the top of the sleeve head lines up with the shoulder seam - it's marked with the middle lilac tailor tack.  

The strip gets sewn to the sleeve head with a 1/2" seam allowance.  

How you do this is to pull the bias strip taut, and slightly push the sleeve head under the foot at the same time as it goes through the machine.  Start at the top of the sleeve head, where the strip is pinned, and work to the end of the strip.  

 This all sort of magically gathers up the ease in the sleeve head, as you can see below!

And here's what it looks like from the inside.

Then it gets pinned into the coat armhole, and sewn in.

I read a great tip on a website somewhere about using the bias strip to pad out the sleeve head.  I can't remember what website it was though, and I think it was something in the comments.

Anyway, what you do is fold the bias strip back on itself towards the seam, pin and hand sew in place.  Here it is pinned in place, sorry about the flash photo, I was doing this at night time.

  

And here it is hand sewn in place.

And this is what it looks like from the outside!

Lynne