We will now mount our sleeves to our bust, taking care to respect the direction: we have a right sleeve, and a left sleeve! To avoid getting confused, here is how you can proceed:
- Place your blouse < hanbok > on its wrong side and take your 2 sleeves which are on their right side
- Locate the small notches you made at the beginning: the notch on the sleeve should coincide with the shoulder seam, and the double notch on the sleeve should coincide with the double notch on the front.
➡️ When you start sewing, it's not always easy to project yourself in 3D. Take the time to carefully observe which is the Right Front, the Left Front, the Right Sleeve and the Left Sleeve. Use the notches to help you, and observe the direction of the fabric: which pieces are on the right side? Which are on the wrong side? Our diagrams are there to help you with this in support of the tutorial video, hoping that they will help you see things more clearly 💖
➡️ Are you finding it difficult to match your sleeves to your bust edge to edge? Is the sleeve cap too big to fit into the armhole? Don't panic, this is perfectly normal. It's due to what's called "fill-in."
❓ What is the heaviness? The heaviness corresponds to an excess of fabric to be absorbed on a piece in order to assemble it with another. We actually plan a little heaviness during the pattern making in places where we need ease, or when we want to add volume (a "bulge" on a sleeve head for example). Particularly at the armholes, you will always have a little heaviness: this is what will make your garment comfortable and above all, it is what will allow you to move in it! Refer to our tutorial video to see how to properly distribute the heaviness. On our < hanbok > blouse, the heaviness is easy to tame because there is almost none: the armholes are wide and we have not planned any particular volume at the shoulders on this model.
- Once you've mastered the fullness and tamed all the notches, pin everything together, carefully matching all the notches at the armholes. As a reminder:
- the double notches of the 2 Fronts must coincide with the double notches of the Sleeves
- the sleeve seam must coincide with the side seam (under the armpit)
- the notch of the sleeve head must coincide with the shoulder seam
⚠️ Pay attention to your seam allowances again when pinning: they are all lying towards the back: the sleeve seam allowances, the side seam allowances and the shoulder seam allowances
💡 Tip: if you are a beginner, do not hesitate to use a lot of pins when assembling your sleeves, this will help you to have nice connections
- Sew with a straight stitch 1cm from the edge: start at the side stitch (under the armpit) and go all the way around the armhole. Don't forget to backstitch, at the beginning and end as usual, and cut off any excess threads.
💡 Good to know: Starting the backstitch here helps reinforce the underarm stitch. This is often where you end up with a hole due to wear.
💡 Sewing machine tip: Don't hesitate to remove the accessory compartment from your sewing machine to be more comfortable when sewing your sleeves. This gives you more space to stitch neatly along the entire armhole, avoiding pulling on the fabric.
- Raw edge version: now overlock the 2 armholes using a zigzag stitch or an overlocker (always the 2 thicknesses of fabric at the same time, after leveling if necessary)
- Iron everything, folding the seam allowances of the armholes towards the bust.
