Ravellings on the knitted sleeve -- Part I

To some knitters or would-be designers, there is nothing so daunting as designing a knitted sleeve that fits.

The problem with sleeves -- whether the simple, boxy drop-shoulder style, or those involving more intricate shaping -- is that there always seems to be a whiff of uncertainty about the finished product.

First, there's uncertainty in length. A knit garment body that winds up being an inch too long or short can be camouflaged or forgiven, unless you're particularly fastidious. But a long sleeve that misses the wrist by an inch is an aggravation, especially if it was knit from the wrist upwards. Knitting the sleeve from the shoulder down to the wrist makes lengthening or shortening easier, but you may not get an accurate measurement of the sleeve length until you have bound off and blocked the sleeve.

And then there's the uncertainty in determining a proper upper arm width. Both a too-narrow and a too-wide sleeve can be uncomfortable.

Armscye? In sewing, the opening in the garment body through which the arm protrudes is called the armscye (pronounced "arm's eye"), which is a somewhat more graceful word than the "armhole" used in knitting.

Finally, there's the uncertainty of armscye depth. How much space do you need to allow freedom of movement for the wearer's arm? How shallow can you make an armhole without uncomfortably binding the shoulder? Knitted fabric, having some inherent stretch, can accommodate a slightly snug fit, but hand knitted fabric cannot compensate for gross misjudgment.

So, if you're in the position of having to add sleeves to an existing sleeveless vest or top, or designing a garment from scratch, how do you pick the right sleeve style, and how do you crunch the numbers to make the sleeves fit the body?

To answer these questions, you'll need to be acquainted with the common types of sleeves used for clothing, and what measurements to take. In this issue, we'll look at different types of sleeves and their respective pros and cons, and then discuss measuring and designing the simplest species of sleeves: drop shoulder and modified drop shoulder sleeves.

A sleeve primer

Drop shoulder

What it looks like
The drop-shoulder style has the simplest lines of any sleeve style. The body of the garment is usually a simple rectangle, with little, if any, shaping. The body width (the rectangle width) extends past the actual shoulder line of the wearer; in fact, if no sleeves were added to the drop-shoulder body, the shoulder portion of the garment would extend into cap sleeves. The armscye is not shaped at all.

The sleeve is also based on a simple rectangle, usually with a taper towards the wrist. The sleeve is shorter than the wearer's actual arm; the upper edge of the sleeve does not reach the shoulder. The length of the upper edge of the sleeve equals two times the depth of the armscye. Once assembled, the sleeve extends from the garment body at a right angle.

A schematic of a drop shoulder garment. When assembled, the garment is distinctly "T" shaped, and needs lots of wearing room [ease] to fit properly.

Assembly
If the garment is knit flat (i.e., with the body in two pieces, a front and back), a drop-sleeve pullover is assembled by first seaming or joining the shoulders of the front and back body, then centering the tops of the sleeves with the shoulder seams, and sewing or grafting the sleeves to the body. The whole body is then folded in half at the shoulders, and the side and sleeve seams sewn.

Alternatively, once the shoulders are joined, the sleeves may be picked up along the side edge, centered around the shoulder seams, and knit down towards the wrist. This eliminates some guesswork about the length of the sleeves, since the garment can be tried on before the cuffs are bound off. (Of course, proper measuring and gauge measurement techniques would eliminate this guesswork as well, but picking up and knitting downward also eliminates the armscye seam.)

The drop-sleeve garment is also found in Norwegian-style sweaters, typically worked in the round. If the entire body is knit in the round, the armholes may be cut and fixed afterwards using steeking techniques. Otherwise, the upper body may be split into two at the armholes, and worked flat so that cutting is not necessary. The shoulder seams are then joined, and the sleeve is picked up all around the armhole and knit in the round towards the wrist.

Pros
Because all seamlines are straight, this style is easily adapted to be worked flat or in the round.

The simple shape of each piece makes for the easiest arithmetic in calculating increases, decreases, and sleeve length. The simple shapes also make it easy to knit from the top down (shoulder to wrist/hem) or bottom up (wrist/hem to shoulder).

The simple shapes also make it easy to centre colour or texture patterns without concern for interruptions. As there is no armscye indentation, vertical cable panels or colour designs can flow uninterrupted along the edges of the front and back. That's one reason you'll find many Aran-style sweaters take advantage of the drop-shoulder style, or its variant, the saddle shoulder. The only concern you may have with a vertically repeating pattern is ensuring that the repeats are not cut off at an unattractive point.

Vertical designs flow uninterrupted on a drop shoulder garment; pay attention to where a pattern repeat falls on the sleeve.

Because the seam between the sleeve and body is not intended or expected to lie at the shoulder joint, the drop shoulder style "forgives" an imprecise fit at the upper body.

Cons
Some people feel the lower armhole seam looks untidy. The drop shoulder can evoke visions of oversized, sloppy sweatshirts, because for the most part, drop-shoulder sweaters are quite loose-fitting.

The drop-shoulder style can also make the wearer appear broader than he or she actually is. This is partially due to the fact that the garment is likely quite loose-fitting, but also because the seam between the sleeve and garment body is almost horizontal, drawing the eye across the body. (If the sleeves are eliminated, as in a cap-sleeve garment, the extended shoulder of the cap sleeve will also draw the eye across the body, again producing the illusion that the wearer is wider than he or she really is.)

Although the sleeve meets the garment body at a right angle, the wearer rarely maintains a scarecrow stance with arms extended from the torso at ninety degrees. When the wearer stands naturally, with arms down at his or her sides, this means that fabric may bunch up in the underarm area, resulting in discomfort.

Drop shoulders are also generally unsuitable for tight-fitting or close-fitting pullovers. We'll explore the reason why in more detail in next issue's article on set-in sleeve shaping; but briefly, when the wearer's arm is extended, the distance required to travel from the neck, over the shoulder, and down the arm is shorter than when the arm is hanging straight down. When the arm is lowered, there must be sufficient ease in the garment upper body to cover that extra length in the shoulder. In a drop-shoulder style, that ease comes from a wider body.

Not only that, but a tight, rectangular body just looks and feels uncomfortable. Trust me.

Also, thanks to the generally loose fit of drop-shoulder garments, a short sleeve (or cap sleeve, if the sleeve part of the garment is eliminated) is likely to reveal foundation garments or less attractive body parts when the arm is raised.

Variations
The disadvantage of an "untidy" appearance or feel can be eliminated by substituting a modified-drop-shoulder style, which indents the upper part of the armhole seam on the body to more closely resemble a shaped armscye. The armscye seam may not rest exactly at the shoulder line, but it is at least closer to the shoulder.

A schematic of a modified drop shoulder garment. When assembled, the lines are similar to the drop shoulder style.

The disadvantages of a tighter-fitting drop-shoulder garment can be alleviated by imcorporating an underarm gusset, which is used on traditional fishing ganseys. The gusset is a diamond-shaped insert that provides the extra ease necessary for natural arm movement. Since it is usually formed by adding extra increases to the body and sleeve at the underarm, it doesn't have to look like a diamond or an insert, but it can be decorated to look like one if desired.

Another variant of the drop shoulder, often used in combination with the gusset on gansey-style sweaters, is the shoulder strap. The strap is an extension of the sleeve along the shoulder; the front and back of the sweater are joined to this strap, rather than to each other.

The schematic for a gansey style. On the left side, the shaping of an armhole gusset; on the right, shoulder strap shaping. The neck end of the strap may be widened to provide a more accurate shoulder fit.

If the sleeve extends from the rectangular body at a right angle with no seam, then the sleeve is a kimono sleeve. When knitting a kimono sleeve, the assembly method is similar to the dolman or batwing sleeve, described below.

Set-in

What it looks like
The set-in sleeve style appears to have simple lines when assembled, but the shaping of the individual pieces is more complex than the drop shoulder. The shoulder area of the garment body is cut out so that the whole arm is exposed. The armscye begins at the side seam and curves towards the body in a gradually increasing slope (in other words, beginning with frequent decreases, followed by less frequent decreases), until the armscye line is more or less vertical. The armscye edge does not extend past the wearer's shoulder, unless the shoulder is intended to be filled out with a shoulder pad, or the garment is intended to be worn over other layers, such as a coat or jacket.

The sleeve tapers from the bicep line to the wrist. Above the bicep line, the sleeve cap gently slopes to the shoulder point. In knitting, the uppermost point is actually a bound-off edge, between two and four inches long.

The perimeter of the sleeve cap is approximately equal to the total perimeter of the armscye, which is greater than twice the armscye depth (unlike the drop shoulder). The height of the sleeve cap is less than the depth of the armscye. Sometimes, the sleeve cap perimeter is longer than the perimeter of the armscye. In that case, excess fabric can be gently eased in while sewing the armscye seam.

When assembled, the sleeve extends from the garment body at an angle significantly less than ninety degrees, which is closer to the usual position of the arm. Often, knitted garments are designed so that the sleeve cap and front and back armscye are symmetric; in reality, our bodies aren't that symmetric, but the stretch in knit fabric allows for this tiny cheat.

The schematic of a set-in sleeve garment. When assembled, the angle between the sleeve and body means less fabric bunches under the arm, and a sleeker fit is possible.

Assembly
Because of the shaping of the armscye and sleeve cap, a set-in sleeve garment is usually knit flat. The front and back body are joined at the shoulders, and then the sleeve cap is sewn into the armscye. Because a curved edge is being matched to a (mostly) straight edge, neat sewing is sometimes a challenge. If necessary, any excess fabric along the sleeve cap should be eased (slightly gathered) to fit the armscye. Once the sleeve cap is sewn in, the body side seams and the straight sleeve seams are sewn.

Alternatively, the front and back body first may be joined at the shoulder and side seams, and the sleeve sewn into a tube along its long seam. The sleeve is then set into (hence the name, "set-in") the armscye, matching the underarm seams together and the centre of the sleeve cap with the shoulder seam. This is usually the order of operations used in sewing. In knitting, you'd use this assembly method if the lower part of the body was knit in the round, then divided for knitting and shaping the upper body.

It is possible to pick up and knit a set-in sleeve from the armscye down to the wrist, but this technique will require short rows to give the sleeve proper shape.

Pros
Because it more closely mimics the wearer's usual arm position, the set-in sleeve overcomes the main disadvantages of the drop shoulder: no fabric bunching in the underarm area, making for a more comfortable fit, and vertical armscye seams instead of horizontal seams, which promotes a more slimming look.

The shaping of the sleeve cap provides the necessary "space" in the garment's upper body required to allow for freedom of arm movement, without having to add extra room to the garment body in a manner similar to the drop-shoulder style. This means that the set-in sleeve style is suitable for tight-fitting or close-fitting tops. It's still good for looser clothing, as well.

If the sleeve is set into a short-sleeved top, the closer fit around the arm and shoulder means that raising one's arm does not reveal any, ahem, unappealing features.

Cons
The shape of the sleeve cap makes this sleeve the most labour-intensive to calculate and to sew to the garment body.

If the garment body is designed around vertical panels, then vertical designs will have to be interrupted or eliminated in order to accommodate the indented armscye.

Vertical designs near the body edge will be interrupted by the armscye shaping of a set-in sleeve garment.

Upper body fit is more important with a set-in sleeve garment; when choosing a size, care must be taken to ensure that the finished shoulder width will fit the wearer. If the garment's shoulders are too narrow, the sleeve cap will have to stretch over the wearer's shoulder; if the garment's shoulders are too broad, they may result in an odd, boxy profile.

Variations
Set-in sleeve garments may be combined with gussets for a better fit, and shoulder straps for a decorative look. The sleeve cap alone, or the entire sleeve, may be enlarged to add details such as a gathered cap or a shoulder pleat.

Normally, the sleeve and body are joined at a seam at or very near the shoulder line; depending on current trends, the seam may be extended beyond the natural shoulder line (often requiring the use of shoulder pads to fill out the shoulder area), or cut slightly inwards (a "narrow shoulder" look that was more popular in the late 1970s).

A summery variation of the set-in sleeve is the use of a sleeve cap alone to cover the shoulder, leaving most of the upper arm bare.

The tiniest of set-in sleeves.

Raglan

What it looks like
The raglan style is often associated with a casual or sporty look. Instead of positioning an armscye seam over the shoulder, the raglan sleeve seam slants from the underarm to the neckline, with the result that the back, front, and sleeve all taper towards the neck. Depending on the garment design, the upper edge of the raglan sleeve may form a substantial part of the neckline, and may be shaped to blend in with the curve of the front and back neckline.

Usually, the raglan seam edges on the front, back, and sleeve are straight lines, as they are formed by decreases (or increases, if knit from the top down) at regular intervals. Occasionally the seams may be curved either as a design feature, or as a tweak to fit in the correct number of decreases before running out of upper body or sleeve rows. The length of each raglan edge on the sleeve is approximately equal to the length of the corresponding raglan edges on the front and back, although it is possible that the sleeve edges may be a little longer, in which case any excess fabric may be eased in gently.

When assembled, the sleeve usually extends from the garment body at an angle less than ninety degrees, but not as small an angle as the set-in sleeve. The pitch of the raglan seams determines the angle at which sleeve and body meet. For example, it's possible to have a raglan sleeve that extends at a right angle from the garment body, if the seams are angled at forty-five degrees from the vertical.

Schematics of a raglan sleeved garment. The angle at which the sleeve meets the body depends on the pitch of the raglan shaping on both the sleeves and the body.

Assembly
If the garment is knit in flat pieces, the front, back, and sleeves are first knit. The garment is assembled by sewing the front raglan edges of the body to the front raglan edges of the sleeves (if the sleeves are not symmetric, the front raglan edges of the sleeves will usually be shorter than the back edges), then sewing the back raglan edges of the sleeves to the raglan edges of the back body. The underarm and side seams are sewn last.

If the garment is knit in the round from the bottom up, usually the body and sleeves are first worked separately from hem (or cuff) to the underarm. The live stitches of the body and sleeves are then threaded onto a long circular needle, with the live stitches of the upper sleeves lying between the live stitches of the upper front and back. Some underarm stitches on both the body and sleeves are left on holders or waste yarn. The upper body, with raglan decreases, is then worked in the round up to the neck. Because knitting in the round will yield a front and back neck of the same depth, often short rows may be added to the back to raise the back neckline by about an inch or so. The underarm stitches are then grafted or bound off together.

If the garment is knit in the round from the top down, the raglan lines of the upper body are shaped using increases, rather than decreases, to the bottom of the armholes (as with knitting from the bottom, short rows may be worked across the back to raise the armhole). At that point, the sleeves, front, and back must be divided out to separate circular needles, double-pointed needles, or holders; the front and back on one set, and each sleeve on their own set. When the body is worked using the front and back stitches, additional stitches are cast on at the underarm positions; similarly, underarm stitches are added when the sleeves are worked downward from the upper sleeve stitches. When the body and sleeves are complete, the underarm stitches are grafted or sewn together.

Pros
The lines of the raglan sleeve provide a more sophisticated style than the drop shoulder, while requiring only relatively simple arithmetic. But like the drop shoulder, the raglan style is also a forgiving shoulder fit--there's no armscye seam to align with the shoulder joint.

At the same time, the raglan sleeve is easier to calculate and sew than a set-in sleeve, while still providing some of the same fitting benefits. Thanks to the angled pitch of the arms, there's less fabric bulk under the arms, and it's not necessary to add as much extra ease in order to fit the garment over the shoulder area.

However, close and tight-fitting raglans with shallow armholes may still be uncomfortably tight, unless some other adjustments are made to the shoulder area; for example, by adding short row shaping at the shoulder point to allow for movement. Alternatively, the sleeve may be worked with extra wearing ease up to the shoulder, with a sleeve dart removing the extra ease once past the shoulder. These alterations will provide a better fit, but it does detract from the "forgiving shoulder fit" advantage.

Inserting short rows at the shoulder point will compensate for a tight fit under the arm; additional decreases, creating a dart, can also take up slack once the sleeve meets the body

The lines of the raglan make this style a prime candidate for knitting from the top down or knitting in the round, with only underarm stitches to be grafted or sewn together.

Also, either a pro or a con depending on your point of view, the raglan lines accentuate the shoulders, making you look broader than you really are. This aspect can be enhanced by working the sleeves in a contrasting colour.

Cons
If the raglan sleeves extend from the garment body at a ninety degree angle, or something close to a right angle, then some of the same fitting problems as for drop shoulder garments will arise: excess fabric bunching under the arms, and an unsuitability for tight-fitting garments. That problem can be alleviated by altering the pitch of the raglan edges to something greater than forty-five degrees.

Even non-right-angled raglan sleeves may feel tight and binding in a close-fitting garment, for similar reasons as for the drop shoulder: there's not enough room in the garment upper body to allow for the curves of the shoulder.

Because of the sloped raglan seams, vertical stitch or colour patterns are interrupted. For example, the decreases may interfere with an extra-wide central panel. However, the decrease lines also provide an opportunity for interesting design details.

If you're a busty body type, there's a traditional caveat against the raglan style. Whether you believe it (and whether you think it's a pro or con) is up to you, but some feel that the slanted lines of the raglan sleeve call attention to the bust area, highlighting an already ample figure. Other people don't believe this, and argue that it slightly diminishes the appearance of the bust; both sides cite the slanted raglan seams as the cause.

If you think it's a problem, you can try working different decrease styles to de-emphasize the seamlines, or use the yoke sweater variation instead.

Variations
A construction method peculiar to knitting is the yoked sweater, knit in the round. The yoked sweater can be considered to be a graceful adaptation of the raglan design, or vice versa. In essence, the yoked sweater is raglan shaping, distributed evenly around the shoulders and chest, rather than concentrated at four seamlines.

Like the drop shoulder and set-in sleeve, the raglan sleeve can be styled with a shoulder strap. In that case, the "raglan" portion of the sleeve ends sooner, and the strap extends from the raglan portion to the neck.

Dolman

What it looks like
The dolman style has a sleeve formed integrally with the body, with only two substantial seams at the underarms. A generous amount of space is provided under the arms for movement, so the garment is usually considered to be very loose-fitting, even if the sleeve forearms are tight.

Knitted dolman styles are often designed as one-piece designs, to be knit sideways (cuff-to-cuff) or continuously from front to back. With this unitary construction, the dolman sleeves almost invariably extend from the body at a right angle. It is possible to alter this shape to provide angled sleeves with strategically placed increases and decreases or short rows, or alternatively by working the front and back separately.

A dolman sleeved garment schematic. With clever shaping or short rows, the sleeves can be angled.

Assembly
Because of the shape of the pieces, dolman-sleeved garments usually knit flat. If a dolman-sleeved garment is worked from bottom to top in two pieces, for both front and back the body is worked from the hem to the underarm, where the sleeves begin; stitches are cast on at the end of a number of consecutive rows until the number of stitches added to each side of the body is equal to the length of the sleeve extension. Once half the circumference of the cuff measurement has been worked, the upper edge is gradually bound off over a number of rows (with neck shaping as required). If a less tapered sleeve is desired, the sleeve extension cast-on or bind-off rows could be worked over fewer rows. The front and back are then seamed along the underarms and over the tops of the sleeve and shoulder.

If the garment is knit in one piece from front to back (or back to front), the front (or back) is worked in a manner similar to the front (or back) of a two-piece dolman garment, but it is not bound off at the upper edge. Instead, the body on either side of the neck is worked, with neck shaping (decreases and increases) until the neckline on the back (or front) can be completed. Extra stitches are cast on in the middle of the next row to join the body back (or front) together; bind-off rows shape the lower edge of the sleeve, and then the body is knit to the back (or front) hem. To assemble, the garment is folded together at the shoulder, and the underarm seams are sewn.

If the garment is knit in one piece sideways (cuff-to-cuff), the first cuff is cast on, and increases shape the sleeve until the body begins; extra stitches are cast on at the end of two consecutive rows to equal the length of the body extension. When the depth for the neckline is reached, stitches are decreased or bound off to add the shaping; increases or cast-on stitches close the neckline on the other side. Two more bind-off rows create the body sides, then the sleeves are gradually decreased to the second cuff. To assemble, the garment is folded together at the shoulder, and the underarm seams are sewn.

The order of construction for a one-piece dolman sweater, from hem to hem or side to side.

 

Pros
As noted above, if you're a fan of sideways knitting, the dolman is perfect for a cuff-to-cuff sweater.

If you choose to knit the garment with the front, back, and sleeves as a single piece, it's also the simplest style to assemble, with only two underarm seams to sew. This makes it an excellent choice for lacy or holey fabrics (think novelty ladder or confetti yarns) that just don't seem to take seaming gracefully.

Dolmans also provide for continuity of pattern from sleeve to body, if the garment is knit sideways (there will be an interruption at the neckline), or over the shoulder, if the garment is knit from front to back.

The dolman sweater is easy to fit for similar reasons as the drop shoulder, as there is no cross-shoulder seam.

Cons
If you choose to knit the front and back separately, there will be a seam or join from the wrist to the neck. This is usually not a desirable construction technique in knitting, from the point of view of finishing. In an otherwise plain garment, that seam will become a focal point.

If the front, back, and sleeves are knit as one piece, the unitary construction means that there is no shoulder seam to support the weight of the fabric hanging down from the shoulders. This may result in pulling and stretched stitches in the shoulder area. Unitary construction also means that there will be a lack of symmetry in the knitted design. Knit stitches, having a "V" shape, have only one axis of symmetry. As the stitches march across your body from side to side, the "V"s will only point in one direction. If you knit the garment from front to back, then the stitches will be right side up on the front, and upside-down on the back. This is a minor inconsistency, but it's more noticeable with ornamentation that highlights the shape of the knit stitch, such as Fair Isle or intarsia.

Knitted dolman designs are usually constructed with sleeves extending at right angles to the body, so once again there's the problem of too much fabric bunching under the arm, leading to a top-heavy appearance.

Variations
Carrying the dolman style to the extreme, the batwing is almost a poncho with two extra seams. It's dramatic, and best suited to a fabric that drapes and folds well.

A dolman sleeved garment schematic. With clever shaping or short rows, the sleeves can be angled.

Choosing a sleeve style

Now that you're acquainted with the various species of sleeves, how do you pick the right one? Consider the pros and cons of each type of sleeve, keeping in mind your objectives in fitting the recipient and (if you're designing your own garment) design planning.

For example, if you're knitting for someone else and you don't know the recipient's actual size, the safest styles are the types that can be knit from the top down to allow for easy length adjustments, and that don't require a specific cross-shoulder measurement: the drop shoulder and raglan sleeve are best.

If you want a sleek, long-sleeved top that can slide underneath other jackets or sweaters, you need to minimize bulk under the arms. Pick the set-in sleeve or a close-fitting raglan or yoked design. These styles are also best if you want to knit a body-conscious design, with a nipped-in waist; waist shaping is lost on loose-fitting garments.

In general, when you're concerned with a good fit that complements the wearer (as opposed to a "safe" fit that will accommodate a small range of body sizes), set-in sleeve styling is almost uniformly an ideal solution to the problem of adding sleeves to a garment. It works just as well for close-fitting tops as for loose-fitting pullovers; it has style lines that are friendly to most body types; it requires minimal alteration to a pre-existing sleeveless design; and a well-sized set-in sleeve is always comfortable, with minimal fabric bulk under the arm.

However, if your intention is to incorporate a particular design feature, such as colour or texture or a different construction method, other styles may be more suitable. If you want to preserve the lines of a vertical or panel design, then a drop shoulder is your best bet. If you want to knit a garment sideways (cuff-to-cuff), the drop shoulder or dolman style is the easiest way to go. And if you want to knit everything in the round, with a minimum of picking up, grafting or sewing, the yoked and raglan styles would be your first choices, requiring just a bit of grafting or picking up at the underarm. Next best are the drop and modified drop shoulder, with sleeves that can be picked up from the armhole and knit down to the wrist.