Hi Rory - I have a question about 'Episode 37: Making the Sleeves'. Around 04:30 you talk about letting the sleeve out 1/2 an inch, but then also say that the sleeve fitted adequately during the fitting. You also mention fullness remaining in the sleeve after it was pressed in for the fitting,.
I don't understand - if we cut the sleeve to a certain size, and then press fullness in, and then let the sleeve out, is it the same as simply cutting a larger sleeve in the first place? If it fitted adequately during the fitting, why are we letting it out?
Thanks very much for the video series - I absolutely love them.
Good question. An old master of mine Eugene Foley would never press the sleeve fullness for fitting. His logic is that after the fitting the sleeves would still have that fullness and would measure smaller. Savile row likes a clean fitting sewn neatly and well pressed. The fullness is still there, you just can’t see it. One can make the argument that once it is pressed flat the fullness should reappear but never the exact same amount. I also like full sleeve, so long as they fit nicely. There is so much BS out there, peddled mostly but non-sewing tailors about high armholes and such. I like a comfortable armhole with a wide sleeve and plenty of fullness, this give a range of motion. High armholes with narrow sleeves found in MTM don’t compete.
Thank you for the quick reply!
Yes, as I've gained experience, I've become skeptical of the super-high armhole too. I still like to cut it higher than RTW, but not so high that I can feel it. A bit of ease in the underarm is definitely more comfortable, and range of motion is not terribly important for working a desk job. Maybe if the jacket was being made for a dancer/conductor...
Also agree about a wide sleeve. I used to resist them, but now I go as wide as possible. It is not only more comfortable, but I also think it looks better (thin sleeve on a bulky torso like mine looks foolish).
I find that they key problem with a wide sleeve is how to fit it into the armhole. It seems to necessitate some sacrifice in cap height, at least with lighter/firmer cloths. Would you agree?
Half the circumference of the armhole or 1/4 of the chest. You won’t go too wrong from there.
Under-sleeve is narrower as you will see in the draft notes.