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Sleeve Caps - an overview

8/20/2013

8 Comments

 
or ... Why we can't lift our arms.

Yesterday, I showed you how I took the sleeves off my daughter-in-law's dress, so she would be able to lift her arms to dance at the wedding she was going to soon.

This got me to thinking about how the sleeves in modern clothing have very high caps, which make the underarm curve very deep.  This make the sleeve look really nice and smooth when your arms are down, but when you lift your arms this lifts the rest of the garment, or if the garment fits tightly, sleeves like this prevent you from being able to lift your arms at all.

Sleeves weren't always like this.  Until about the 1920's sleeves had lots of extra fabric under the arms that allowed people to lift their arms easily. Dresses during this time fit very tightly and ladies wore tight corsets. I think sleeves changed around the 20s, because all of a sudden dresses were loose so sleeves didn't need to have that extra armpit fabric for mobility. And the look of the sleeves when the dress was simply being modeled was more important than the look when arms are lifted.

So, today I'm going to give a quick overview on the evolution of sleeve caps in European clothing for the last 400 years.  

All my example are from Janet Arnold's books.

Picture
A women't jacket from 1615 - 18
Picture
These 1615 sleeves have a 1 1/2" different between the cap and the underarm.

Picture
A woman's jacket from 1730 - 50
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This sleeve has a 3 1/2" different between cap and underarm.

Picture
A riding habit from 1795 - 1810
Picture
This one piece sleeve has a 3 inch difference between cap and underarm.

Picture
A day dress from 1866 - 7
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These two piece sleeves have 3" between cap and underarm.

Picture
A day dress from 1908
Picture
This sleeve, even though it is fuller still only has 4 inches from cap to underarm.

Picture
A dress and jacket from 1920
Picture
This is when the big change came. The sleeve for the dress has a 6 inch difference from cap to underarm. The difference for jacket sleeve is also 6".
Picture
And here is a good basic modern set in sleeve and the rise of the sleeve cap is 6" for the size 10, which is probably the size of that 1920's jacket above.
I just want to mention that the sleeves in a modern man's shirt have very shallow caps to allow for movement, BUT a modern man's suit has the high cap like modern women's clothing.  Again for that smooth look when standing with one's arms down.

I always make a period pattern with the correct kind of sleeve and often raise the underarm for other costumes just to make wearing more comfortable.  I do the same for my personal clothing sometimes, too.


How can we start a new trend??????
8 Comments
Ann
8/19/2013 09:58:06 pm

I had always thought that a high underarm (and high sleeve cap) was what gave you mobility. The current shallow cap and low underarm is what makes the whole garment pull up when you lift the arm.

Burda patterns usually tend to have the "European" sleeve (high underarm) for better fit.

I'll wait for tomorrow's post. Meanwhile, I'm doing the muslin for a friend's wedding dress based on an early 60's cocktail dress (she has the vintage pattern but it's nowhere near her size) and it has a very tight sleeve with a very high sleeve cap--and she needs to be able to hug her new husband. I'll be standing by for tomorrow's post.

Reply
Andrea Schewe
8/20/2013 10:25:30 am

Ann, it's low sleeve cap, high under arm and a close fitting arm hole that gives mobility. I'm sorry I don't have another sleeve blog post coming right away.

Reply
Ann
8/20/2013 09:39:41 pm


OK--it's the higher underarm that I was thinking of--doesn't pull like a modern low one.

I know that a blog is time-consuming to keep up--I hope you can manage it because I'm really enjoying it.

Reply
Andrea Schewe
8/21/2013 09:06:27 am

Thanks. I'm intend to keep it going. But it's. work in progress.

Reply
Jehanni
8/23/2013 03:08:07 pm

And of course, knit fabrics and weaves with lycra added also have stretch built in to the fabric, which helps a little...but I see the sleeve caps on my tee shirts bunch up, too, so the fit problems are still there. How much does the length of the shoulder seam change the fit? I know in some eras of history, like the 1850-60s, the sleeve cap may be shallower because the shoulder seam extends past the point where the joint hinges. And of course, there are arty sleeves where the shoulder and sleeve are cut in one piece! I like the exploration. Will be interested to see more discussions.

Reply
Christel link
1/16/2014 05:32:10 am

I would also love to see more discussion of this topic, like a good way to adjust a modern pattern. In my dance company we have problems sometimes with costumes that look good standing still but go out of shape when we raise our arms. Mostly I have tried adding some kind of godet or gore to add fabric under the arm. Any tips for me?

Reply
Marily
5/25/2014 09:51:02 pm

If you haven't, can you talk about those inserted diamond shaped gussets under the arm in antique clothing. I need to fix the tight arm hole in my daughter's dress from the thrift store. Thought i would put in a gusset.

Reply
Katie
4/2/2018 02:51:09 am

This is the best insight to sleeves I have found in my 2 weeks of searching. Everything I read said make the armhole on the bodice tighter and if increasing the bicep go back to original sleeve cap. I remember one time I didn't do this and the sleeve mobility was pretty good. And now that I look at my original sleeve pattern,I see how freaking high that cap is (6 inches!) No wonder my arms are glued to my side! Thank you for ending my search!

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    I am a commercial pattern maker who is now "sewing over 50"!
    I love to sew and hope to encourage others to come back to sewing.
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