I really wanted to include this as part of the sewalong as it’s such an easy alteration to the Banksia, and makes such a cute winter top! Remember this pretty blouse from my last collection? Well, this sleeve plus the Banksia pattern will get you there! Let’s chat through how to lengthen the sleeve.
I have to admit, sometimes I like this long-sleeved version of Banksia even more than the original hehe.
Ready to go?
First, we’ll start with the Banksia sleeve in your chosen size. How long you want your sleeve to be will depend on how long your arms are. Basically, you want to figure out the finished length of your long sleeve based on your favourite long-sleeve top. For me that was 23″. I then added 1″ for ‘puffiness’ around the wrist.
The beauty of this sleeve is that we will be finishing the cuff with elastic – how easy is that? I kind of adore it. We’ll be using 1″ wide elastic – so when figuring out the length of the sleeve you’ll need to cut you’ll take your finished sleeve length (24″ for me), add on 5/8″ for the shoulder seam allowance, and then add 2″ for the cuff (I’ll explain how it all works out later). So my sleeve pattern needs to be 26 5/8″ long in total.
First let’s tape some extra paper to the bottom of the sleeve pattern.
Now fold the pattern in half – I do this because it makes it easier to keep everything symmetrical and work from the centre of the sleeve.
Measure down the fold line till you reach the length you need (again, for me it was 26 5/8”). Square across and up to meet the underarm of your original sleeve.
Note that I didn’t taper the sleeve at all – I kept the width of the sleeve wide. We’ll be adding elastic, which results in a really nice gathered puffy sleeve, which is the aim.
Cut it out and you’re done!
See how to sew up the long sleeve with elastic in a tutorial here.
LOOKING FOR MORE BANKSIA POSTS?
- Preparation
- Sewing: Darts & Seams
- Sewing: Basting & Placket prep
- Sewing: Collars
- Sewing: Collarless version
- Sewing: How to sew a placket
- Sewing: How to sew a placket the easier way
- Sewing: How to sew a faux placket
- Sewing: Leaving the placket off
- Sewing: Flat sleeve insertion
- Sewing: Sleeveless version
- Sewing: Long-sleeved version
- Sewing: Hemming
- Sewing: Dress version
- Sewing: Jersey version
Some other tutorials you might like to check out:
- Pattern Alterations: How to turn the pattern into a dress
- Pattern Alterations: Altering bust dart height
- Pattern Alterations: Bust adjustments (FBA and SBA)
- Pattern Alterations: Lengthen the sleeves (this post!)
- Pattern Alterations: Drafting different collars
- Pattern Alterations: Alter the pattern for stretch fabrics
DON’T HAVE THE PATTERN YET?
