I admit, I have a weakness for ruffles! There's just something so whimsical about them! And on the sleeves they look absolutely adorable! My eyes are always drawn to summer dresses with flutter sleeves! If you have a basic sleeveless bodice pattern you can draft flutter sleeves with these easy steps!
First, decide how long you want your flutter sleeves to extend. Since you will be gathering you need to add extra length to that measurement. For my sleeves I used 2 strips (one for each shoulder) 8.5" long and 3.5" wide.
I took the strips and folded with wrong sides together (to make the width of the flutter sleeve about 1.5" wide) and added a basting stitch to gather.
Gather the strip into a "U" shape.
Before pinning your flutter sleeve, sew the shoulder seams together according to your pattern instructions.
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Pin the flutter sleeve to the arm hole with raw edges matching (The fold of the strip is facing the neck of the bodice.) Match the center of the ruffle with the shoulder seam.
As you gather and arrange the ruffle strip to the arm/shoulder area you will want to have the edge of the strip slightly curving off the arm hole.
At this point I like to flip the project over and see where my arm hole curve is in relation to my flutter sleeve. I re-pin from this angle to sew the sleeve to the bodice.
Sew a straight stitch along the bodice armhole attaching the flutter sleeve. Here's a view of the wrong side:
View of the right side:
Trim the excess allowance from the flutter sleeve
Continue sewing the bodice according to your pattern instructions! Since my pattern is lined the flutter sleeve is sewn in between the lining and main fabric. When the dress is turned right side out the flutter sleeves pop out!
It is such a simple technique that adds a little extra detail to your project!
If you would like to see how I added pockets to the shorts that Eva Mae is wearing go check out my Sewing Rabbit tutorial today!
Thanks, RaeAnna, I've never given the ruffle sleeves much thought, your tutorial has given me knowledge that I will use next time I sew for my granddaughters.
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