1 Fitting Raglan Sleeves You've Probably Seen Many Bomber

Fitting Raglan sleeves

You’ve probably seen many bomber jackets and sweatshirts with raglan sleeves in the shops. A raglan sleeve’s main characteristic is that it begins at the neck and has a long, slanting seam line from the neck to the armhole, giving the garment a relatively undefined shoulder. Raglan sleeves are wider under the arms than a set in sleeve creating a lot of freedom of movement. This is why the classic Baseball t shirts usually feature a raglan sleeve style. The raglan sleeve has been a recurring style in almost every decade, and never seems to go out of fashion. The raglan sleeve works in unisex garments, and across casual- wear, outerwear and occasion wear.

The Raglan sleeve was invented for Lord Raglan, who is said to have worn this style of sleeve after the loss of his arm in the Battle of Waterloo, in a coat made by Aquascutum. It was designed to allow Lord Raglan room to use his sword in battle, since it gave him much greater freedom of movement than the usual style of set in sleeve.

For anyone relatively new to dressmaking, the raglan sleeve is very easy to sew, making it an appealing option. The seam-lines, whilst slightly curved, are diagonal not round like a set in sleeve, and they are “laid on” with all the pieces flat

Ok, I can hear you thinking “yippee” why can’t all sleeves be cut this way? Truth is that whilst they are easy to sew, they do create a few fitting issues, and they’ll never have the smooth fitted line of a set in sleeve. However it is possible to get a great fit with a Raglan seam, which works best either as a looser fit with a lowered armhole, or with a fitted body, higher armhole and tighter sleeve. However, not all raglan sleeves are cut the same! Essentially there are 3 main types of raglan sleeves, which can all be fitted differently. • The un -darted one piece raglan sleeve. This type of sleeve is usually used in stretch fabrics like T shirts, or simple gypsy/peasant style blouses if cut from woven cloth. The neckline is shaped with gathers. This type of sleeve is the one with the least fitting options. • The darted one piece raglan sleeve has a dart from the neck to the tip of the shoulder, which allows greater fitting options around the neckline, and is often used for garments designed to made up in woven fabric. 1

• The 2 piece raglan sleeve has a seam running along the shoulder from the neck to the wrist, and this allows for the greatest amount of fitting options in a raglan. This style is usually used in outerwear to avoid bulk across the shoulders and chest.

For all 3 types of sleeve however, the first measurement to consider is the overarm sleeve length. Unlike a set in sleeve that is measured from the shoulder crown, you need to measure from the neckr point over the shoulder down to the wrist ( or wherever your sleeve ends)

Common fit adjustments.

Like all fit processes, there’s a little trial and error when fitting a raglan sleeve. Sometimes you’ll need to adjust the body pieces, sometimes the sleeve pieces, and you may need to do a little of both. It’s much easier to try and make your adjustments along seamlines, and I’d recommend a tissue fitting or making a fit toile

Excess fabric around the front: For all sleeve shapes, try scooping both the front body seamline, and the front sleeve

Front or back chest feels tight/constricted If it’s the front chest area that feels too tight start by adding a little extra on the front “armhole” seam, or if it’s too tight across the back, add a little to the back “armhole”. If this doesn’t fix the issue try adding a little to the corresponding sleeve seam too.

2 Neckline of the sleeve stands away from the body. This will be treated according to the shape of the sleeve.

1. Dartless 1 piece scoop a dart shaped wedge out of the seamline of the seam that is standing away from the body. You may need to do the same to both sides, but often it’s just one. Alternatively, you could gather/or ease the neckline area to make it smaller. This however does change the design and look

2. Darted 1 piece Make the dart at the shoulder point deeper. With this type of sleeve you can also adjust the position of the dart if it doesn’t sit on your shoulder: either forward or backwards, as well as making it longer/shorter to get a better fit for you.

3. 2 piece sleeve Take a dart shaped wedge from either side of shoulder seam of each piece.

Curve of shoulder seam is too tight/too loose at the shoulder point For a 2 piece sleeve only: Reshape the curved part of the shoulder seam on either side of sleeve, either by adding more shape if the problem is tightness, or scooping out if it’s too loose. You can also adjust the shape of this curved seam too, making it follow the curve of your own shoulders. This needs to be done at a toile or tissue fitting stage

This is not an exhaustive list of all raglan sleeve alterations, but you should be able to apply the same principles for most fitting issues: scoop out to make smaller, add a little where you need extra width.

A good way to correct some shoulder issues like sloped or forward shoulders is to add a light shoulder pad, which fills out the extra space. Make sure to use a raglan pad though! If you need more help fitting raglan sleeves, try “easy guide to sewing tops and T shirts, skirts and pants” by Marcy Tilton: Fit for Real People: Pati Palmer and Maria Alto

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