Tailoring Basics: Sleeve Heads

Sleeve with shoulder pad and sleeve head

Hello, hello, sewing friends.  Today's post addresses a tailoring basic - sleeve heads.

I must confess, I have never added sleeve heads to any of my lined jackets.

For a number of years, shoulder pads went the way of the buffalo,

but just like the buffalo, they are making a resurgence.

Yay!

I like shoulder pads.

And yes, I understand that sleeve heads are different from shoulder pads.

But IMHO, a shoulder pad could be the catalyst that requires the addition of a sleeve head.

*Disclaimer* that is not sewing law, just one blogging sewist's opinion 

When used in conjunction with one another, the sleeve pair complete the shoulder look.

Sleeve with shoulder pad, but no sleeve head

In some garments, the sleeve 'droops' or falls down at the seam line where it meets the bodice.

In the above photo, you can see a definite drop from the shoulder pad to the seam line.

The sleeve head serves to lift up and give stability to the sleeve cap.

Inside view of sleeve head

 To make my sleeve head I used cotton/poly batting because that's what I had on hand.

I traced the shoulder portion of the sleeve pattern between the two dots,

and the method I used to determine the sleeve head depth was

"meh, that looks good!"    :)

The sleeve head is sewn into the sleeve cap following along the seam line

that attached the sleeve to the body.

If you want to give your fall jacket a polished finish, consider adding sleeve heads.

Emma One Sock has a nice tutorial with photos included.