Mythosaur
Active Hunter
Hello Fellow Fetts! I've been busy sewing together a new flightsuit and decided to take a break to bring you this tutorial! I used Darth Mule's Vest Tutorial to make the top and a pattern for PJ pants I bought at the craft store to put it together, but I had to create the pattern for the sleeves which I will show you now.
First, clothes (sleeves especially) are kind of confusing if you've never done it before, the geometry is kind of weird but you'll get the hang of it after doing it for a little while. I would highly recommend the flightsuit not be your first attempt at using a sewing machine, it definitely takes a certain amount of expertise to do. However, I strongly believe anyone can do this so don't let that stop you. With that out of the way let's begin!
What you will need:
Vest Pattern (you can get by with a french curve, this makes it a little easier and things will line up better if you are using the pattern to make the top. You also only need the front portion.)
Paper
Fabric measuring tape
Yardstick
Measurements:
Sleeve Width: Take your flightsuit top and flatten the arm hole so the shoulder seam and side seam meet. Measure how big the hole is.
Total Sleeve Width: Double the Sleeve Width
Sleeve Length: Place measuring tape at shoulder where the seam will be, measure down and around your elbow, bending it 90 degrees. Note the measurement to your wrist.
Cuff Width: Measure around your wrist, ensuring the tape is loose enough for your hand to still fit through. Add an inch.
For the purposes of this tutorial I created a 1/4 size pattern for ease so yours will probably look different, I also would like to state that this worked well for me and feel fairly confident this will work for others, so let me know how it turns out if you give it a shot.
1. Draw a rectangle. Points A-C and B-D equal your Total Sleeve Width. Points A-B and C-D equal your Sleeve Length. Split your top line into quarters and mark E, F, & G. (For instance, my Total Sleeve length was 16", so I ended up with four 4" segments)
2. 2 1/4" down from points A & C, draw horizontal line H-I.
3. 4 1/2" down from point E, mark J
4. On line H-I, mark K directly under point F (right in the middle). The right half will be the outside of the sleeve, the left will be the inside.
5. Place Point N (the shoulder seam) from the vest pattern onto point G of your sleeve pattern, then move the vest pattern until the armhole curve meets up with point I on the sleeve. Draw the curve and repeat between points G and K.
6. Place point O (the side seam) of your vest pattern onto point J of your sleeve pattern, then move the vest pattern until the curve meets up with point K on your sleeve. Draw the curve then repeat between points J and H.
7. On line B-D, mark your Cuff Width equally between the two points. For instance, my cuff width was 11 inches placed between 16 inches leaving a space of 2 1/2 inches on each side. Mark L and M.
8. Connect points H & L and I & M with straight lines, this is your seam.
9. Voila! Cut it out and you have your very own sleeve pattern. For the short sleeves, I just copied this to another piece of paper and placed a horizontal line 10 inches down from point G. I'm 5'6", so this size looks good on me, my actual sleeve length for the short sleeves is about 10 1/2" so some of you taller Fetts will want to increase this size. I also cut my fabric exactly to the pattern EXCEPT at the CUFF (Yielded a pretty snug sleeve). Remember, these measurements are the absolute shortest your sleeves can be so give plenty of fabric to make your cuff. If you are unsure, give yourself extra fabric. You can always take it away, you can't always add it.
Note: After you sew the sleeves together, even out the sleeve so the seam is on top facing you like it would if is was sewn on the suit, and flip it over. There will be a little bit extra fabric between the seam and top of the shoulder. Cut this off so the curve is even on both sides, it will help a lot with sewing it on.
Well, I think that about covers it, if I think of anything else I'll post it. Any questions? Please feel free to ask I will try to help as best I can!
Yours in Fett, Mythosaur
First, clothes (sleeves especially) are kind of confusing if you've never done it before, the geometry is kind of weird but you'll get the hang of it after doing it for a little while. I would highly recommend the flightsuit not be your first attempt at using a sewing machine, it definitely takes a certain amount of expertise to do. However, I strongly believe anyone can do this so don't let that stop you. With that out of the way let's begin!
What you will need:
Vest Pattern (you can get by with a french curve, this makes it a little easier and things will line up better if you are using the pattern to make the top. You also only need the front portion.)
Paper
Fabric measuring tape
Yardstick
Measurements:
Sleeve Width: Take your flightsuit top and flatten the arm hole so the shoulder seam and side seam meet. Measure how big the hole is.
Total Sleeve Width: Double the Sleeve Width
Sleeve Length: Place measuring tape at shoulder where the seam will be, measure down and around your elbow, bending it 90 degrees. Note the measurement to your wrist.
Cuff Width: Measure around your wrist, ensuring the tape is loose enough for your hand to still fit through. Add an inch.
For the purposes of this tutorial I created a 1/4 size pattern for ease so yours will probably look different, I also would like to state that this worked well for me and feel fairly confident this will work for others, so let me know how it turns out if you give it a shot.
1. Draw a rectangle. Points A-C and B-D equal your Total Sleeve Width. Points A-B and C-D equal your Sleeve Length. Split your top line into quarters and mark E, F, & G. (For instance, my Total Sleeve length was 16", so I ended up with four 4" segments)
2. 2 1/4" down from points A & C, draw horizontal line H-I.
3. 4 1/2" down from point E, mark J
4. On line H-I, mark K directly under point F (right in the middle). The right half will be the outside of the sleeve, the left will be the inside.
5. Place Point N (the shoulder seam) from the vest pattern onto point G of your sleeve pattern, then move the vest pattern until the armhole curve meets up with point I on the sleeve. Draw the curve and repeat between points G and K.
6. Place point O (the side seam) of your vest pattern onto point J of your sleeve pattern, then move the vest pattern until the curve meets up with point K on your sleeve. Draw the curve then repeat between points J and H.
7. On line B-D, mark your Cuff Width equally between the two points. For instance, my cuff width was 11 inches placed between 16 inches leaving a space of 2 1/2 inches on each side. Mark L and M.
8. Connect points H & L and I & M with straight lines, this is your seam.
9. Voila! Cut it out and you have your very own sleeve pattern. For the short sleeves, I just copied this to another piece of paper and placed a horizontal line 10 inches down from point G. I'm 5'6", so this size looks good on me, my actual sleeve length for the short sleeves is about 10 1/2" so some of you taller Fetts will want to increase this size. I also cut my fabric exactly to the pattern EXCEPT at the CUFF (Yielded a pretty snug sleeve). Remember, these measurements are the absolute shortest your sleeves can be so give plenty of fabric to make your cuff. If you are unsure, give yourself extra fabric. You can always take it away, you can't always add it.
Note: After you sew the sleeves together, even out the sleeve so the seam is on top facing you like it would if is was sewn on the suit, and flip it over. There will be a little bit extra fabric between the seam and top of the shoulder. Cut this off so the curve is even on both sides, it will help a lot with sewing it on.
Well, I think that about covers it, if I think of anything else I'll post it. Any questions? Please feel free to ask I will try to help as best I can!
Yours in Fett, Mythosaur
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