Purple Dancesport Gown: Putting in the Sleeves

When making street wear you set in the sleeves almost parallel to the body because it is designed to be worn with your arms at you side. Dance sport gowns on the other hand, are designed to be worn with your arms up, so the sleeves are set in almost perpendicular to the body.

1) Put on the dress and place a pin on each shoulder where you want the sleeves to meet the dress, and a pin on each underarm. Remove the dress and adjust the pins so that they are even on both side

2) Baste the over dress to the bodysuit at the armholes in a gentle curve between the pins. Try the dress on again to make sure that the baste lines look like they are placed correctly. Trim just outside the baste lines.

3) Lay out your sleeve fabric, and check the direction of the stretch. For 2-way stretch fabric you want the stretch to go around your arm, *not* lengthwise. Fold the fabric to roughly form the sleeve with the right-sides together.

4) Lay the dress down over the folded fabric, with the fold at the shoulder and the edge that will have the seam at the arm pit.

5) Adjust the fold until the sleeve is the correct width.

6) Cut the length of the sleeve and cut a curve to fit the arm hole. Use this sleeve as a pattern to cut a second sleeve.

7) Baste the length of the sleeves on the raw edge.

8) Slip a sleeve over your arm and pin to get the correct fit. Baste along the pin line, and repeat the process until the sleeve looks like it will fit correctly. Once it fits, duplicate the baste line on the other sleeve. This photo shows the multiple baste lines on one of the sleeves.

9) Machine a straight seam along the baste line, using very long stitches. Trim away the excess fabric and zig-zag stitch the raw seam to bind it.

10) Pin the sleeve to the inside of the arm hole, matching the sleeve seam to the body seam. Work your way around the sleeve so that it is eased in evenly

11) Baste the sleeve in, then straight stitch with long stitches. Finish off by binding the seam with a zig-zag stitch.

12) To cut the pointed cuff, try on the dress and mark the sleeves with a pin on the top of your hand near the base of your fingers, and a pin on the underside of the wrist. Leave enough room for a narrow seam allowance.

13) Remove the dress and lay it out. Adjust the pin marks so that they are the same on both sleeves. Cut between the pins as shown in the picture

14) Make a narrow hem encasing a narrow round elastic. I start the elastic up under my wrist to make it easier to add the elastic loop on top that will go around your finger.  Leave the ends long so that you do not risk losing the elastic inside the casing. Baste, then zig-zag on the machine with clear nylon thread.

15) Tie the elastic ends into a knot, dag with Gem-Tac, and then cut off the excess when the glue dries.

16) Hand stitch in a loop of elastic at the top point of the cuff. I use white elastic that I have colored brown with a fabric pen. I rinse the elastic slightly leaving a nice tan color that won't show too badly. Try it on and adjust the length of the loop as needed. Tie a knot in the elastic, dab the knot with Gem-Tac, and then cut off the excess elastic when the glue dries.