Drafting the Sleeve Block - Tutorial

As my ModCloth Ripoff series has started, There are a few basic things that you will need to be able to follow along with me.  Half of this stuff I'll make up as I go along, but if I can make it work, then anyone can.

Materials needed:

Yard stick or long clear ruler (mine's 18 inches)

French Curves (a dinner plate can work in some places)

Pencil and Eraser

Wrapping Paper*

Measurements (tutorial here)

*I use wrapping paper because it's wide enough that I can do my front and back blocks side by side, but it's also helpful to use wrapping paper because printer paper won't be long enough or wide enough to accommodate the widths we're working with.*

The Basic Sleeve Block

Measurements Needed:

Bicep - Arm Length

1. Draw a rectangle with the width equal to your Bicep measurement 1/2 inch and the length equal to your Arm Length measurement. Fold in half lenthwise and label the right side on the fold "center."

2. Measure the curves of your front and back bodice armholes, add together and divide by 3. Round to the nearest 1/4 inch and measure this distance down from the top of the rectangle and draw a line perpendicular to the center line.

3. Draw a diagonal line from the upper right corner of the rectangle to the lower left corner at the bicep line.  Measure the line you just drew and divide by four. Mark 2 dots an equal distance from each other (1/4 of your measurement from each corner) Label the dots A and B as shown in the photo below.

4. Use a curve to draw the sleeve cap as shown.   It should be 3/8 inch in from dot A and 5/8 inch out from dot B.

5. Mark a double notch where the curve intersects the diagonal line (I marked it farther over in my picture)

6. So far we have the back half of the sleeve completed, take a tracing wheel and trace over the curves of the back sleeve cap and the length of the sleeve, then unfold the sleeve block paper. (if you don't have a tracing wheel you can redo step 3 as a mirror for the front sleeve)

7. From where point A is measure inward another 1/4 inch and 1/4 inch outward from point B. redraw the front sleeve cap.

8. Mark a line for the elbow halfway between the sleeve hem and the bicep line.

Next: Drafting a Skirt Block