February 1, 2021

Upton Sewalong: Prepare the Sleeves


Welcome back to the Upton Dress & Skirt sewalong! Today, we’re getting our sleeves ready to add to our Upton Dress.

(Just joining us? Make sure you head over to the main Upton sewalong page to catch up on everything you may have missed.)

The sleeve options we’re sewing today are included in the new Upton Mix & Match Expansion. (If you have the classic Upton, you can get the expansion as an add-on so that you can take advantage of these new features!) With 8 different options for your sleeves–fitted sleeve (standard and full bicep included) in short, 3/4th, or long, flutter sleeve in short or elbow-length, cap sleeve, and sleeveless–there are so many ways to make the Upton your own.

First, an important note: if you’re making a sleeveless or cap sleeve Upton, be sure you’re using the sleeveless bodice option. For all other sleeves, use the sleeved bodice option. The two bodices are drafted slightly difference so that you can get full bust coverage while still being able to move your arms around (important!).

Okay, let’s start prepping our sleeves. Jump ahead to the sleeve type you’re making, or if you’re not using any sleeves, you can skip this step entirely!

Prep the Fitted Sleeves

Here are our two fitted sleeves. The fitted sleeves come in short, 3/4th length, and long (and a full bicep option for each), so yours might look a little different. Make sure to mark your notches before going further.

These sleeves are inserted in the round for a clean finish inside the bodice of the dress. Start by folding the sleeve in half along the side seam. Pin.

Let’s sew that seam using our 1/2″ (12 mm) seam allowance.

And let’s go ahead and finish the seam as well. I’m using a serger for this.

Now we’re going to hem the sleeve. First, fold the hem to the wrong side by 1/4″ (6 mm) and press.

Fold again by 1/4″ (6 mm) and press again. Pin the hem down or use Wonder Tape to hold it in place.

Now we can topstitch the hem from the right side.

Finally, let’s sew two lines of basting stitches between the two notches. Sew within the seam allowance, and use a long stitch length. Leave tails at the end to make it easier to pull them to adjust the sleeve cap.

Repeat with the other sleeve, and then you’re done!

Prep the Flutter Sleeves

Here are our two flutter sleeves. The flutter sleeves come in short and elbow-length, so yours might look a little different. Make sure to mark your notches before going further.

Start by folding the sleeve in half along the side seam. Pin.

Let’s sew that seam using our 1/2″ (12 mm) seam allowance.

Time to finish the seam allowance! I’m using a serger to finish my edges.

Next we’re going to hem the sleeve. Start by folding the hem edge to the wrong side by 1/4″ (6 mm) and press down.

Fold the hem over again by 1/4″ (6 mm) and press again. Pin or use Wonder Tape to hold the hem down while you sew.

Now we can topstitch the hem from the right side.

Finally, let’s sew two lines of basting stitches between the two notches. Sew within the seam allowance, and use a long stitch length. Leave tails at the end to make it easier to pull them to adjust the sleeve cap.

Let’s do the same thing with the other sleeve!

Prep the Tie Sleeves

Tie sleeves look so darn cute, and they’re not as tricky to sew as they might look. Let’s start by pinning one set of front and back sleeve pieces together at the side seam.

Sew that seam using our 1/2″ (12 mm) seam allowance.

Let’s press that seam open.

Let’s do the same thing with the other 3 pairs of front and back tie sleeve pieces to make 4 sets in total. (Two will become the sleeve linings.)

Take two of the assembled sleeves and place them back to back. We’re going to pin all the way around like so:

Sew all around where you pinned at a 1/4″ (6 mm) seam allowance, then trim it down to 1/8″ (3 mm) and clip into the curves.

Now we can turn that sleeve right side out and use a point turner to get those nice fine points. Press the sleeve flat.

Bring the sleeve edges together so that they form a loop. The edges of the cap should just meet but not overlap.

Based across to hold the edges together.

Finally, let’s sew two lines of basting stitches between the two notches. Sew within the seam allowance, and use a long stitch length. Leave tails at the end to make it easier to pull them to adjust the sleeve cap.

And repeat all that to create the second sleeve!

Prep the Cap Sleeves

Quick reminder again here that the cap sleeves are designed to be used with the sleeveless bodice. That’s because the cap sleeves only cover the top of your arm, and the bottom portion of your arm is essentially sleeveless. If you used the cap sleeves on the sleeved bodice, you might get some gaping at the lower part of the armscye.

Here are our two cap sleeves:

All we have to do to get these suckers ready is to hem them. Start by folding the hem edge to the wrong side by 1/4″ (6 mm) and pressing.

Let’s fold that edge again by 1/4″ (6mm) and press once more.

Pin the hem down or use Wonder Tape to hold it in place.

Topstitch the hem from the right side and then repeat with the second sleeve!

Alright, all of our sleeves are now ready to be inserted to our bodice. We’re going to do that next, but don’t forget to take a moment to pat yourself on the back for a job well done so far.

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Let me know what you think!