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Monday, 15 July 2019 07:43 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
elsewhencemore notes on long fitted sleeve drafting:
- EN 13402 offers the only instructions for measuring the length of a bent arm that have ever made sense to me: from the shoulder point over the elbow to the wrist bone, with the arm bent 90° and the fist clenched and placed on the hip. they even specify that you should measure the right arm! (presumably because most people are right-handed and muscle development might mean that that the measurements of their right arm are slightly larger. maybe it would've been better to specify the dominant arm.) turns out that the sleeve cap plus the back arm length need to be precisely this length to produce a fitted sleeve that lets you bend your elbow. there is probably some way to calculate it too. i like proportional measurements.
- the elbow of a fitted sleeve probably needs to be measured around the bent arm. it would make sense, but i'll make one more mockup with the increased length and unchanged elbow just to be sure. this makes it 2-3 cm larger than around the extended arm.
- modern instructions for fitted sleeve drafts all have ridiculously tiny elbow darts. it's as if the author knew that in theory they're supposed to have darts, but had personally only ever worn fitted sleeves made of elastic materials and which meant they didn't actually understand their purpose, so they just put in this pointless little wedge of a dart as a bare concession to the concept. on my various sleeve drafts the legs of the elbow dart have been as much as 6.5 cm apart, never less than 4 cm...
... okay after some experimenting i don't think i need the extra elbow width. which is good because it means i end up with a smaller elbow dart. bending my arm more than 90° caused the sleeve hem to ride up and isn't all that comfortable, but raising my arm further than shoulder level also causes the hem to ride up and isn't all hat comfortable, and that's fine by me because it's simply not what fitted sleeves are for. they're supposed to look nice when you just stand there and do nothing, or maybe do light desk work or stuff, clothing that fits this way was literally invented to show that you did not need to do physical labour. if i wanted/needed a larger range of motion, i would draft a sleeve with a flatter cap, more ease and a straighter sleeve body. plus honestly: how many activities even require you to bend your arm more than 90°? bicep curls, i guess (which you sure wouldn't wear fitted, woven clothing for)?
i just have some tinkering left to do with the elbow level. you'd think it would be exactly halfway between bicep and wrist, but nope! there's so many things we take for granted about the shape of our bodies because they just seem to make sense, but it's not true. bend your arm as far as possible and you'll find that the wrist does not line up with the bicep level. will have to see what to do about that.
- EN 13402 offers the only instructions for measuring the length of a bent arm that have ever made sense to me: from the shoulder point over the elbow to the wrist bone, with the arm bent 90° and the fist clenched and placed on the hip. they even specify that you should measure the right arm! (presumably because most people are right-handed and muscle development might mean that that the measurements of their right arm are slightly larger. maybe it would've been better to specify the dominant arm.) turns out that the sleeve cap plus the back arm length need to be precisely this length to produce a fitted sleeve that lets you bend your elbow. there is probably some way to calculate it too. i like proportional measurements.
- the elbow of a fitted sleeve probably needs to be measured around the bent arm. it would make sense, but i'll make one more mockup with the increased length and unchanged elbow just to be sure. this makes it 2-3 cm larger than around the extended arm.
- modern instructions for fitted sleeve drafts all have ridiculously tiny elbow darts. it's as if the author knew that in theory they're supposed to have darts, but had personally only ever worn fitted sleeves made of elastic materials and which meant they didn't actually understand their purpose, so they just put in this pointless little wedge of a dart as a bare concession to the concept. on my various sleeve drafts the legs of the elbow dart have been as much as 6.5 cm apart, never less than 4 cm...
... okay after some experimenting i don't think i need the extra elbow width. which is good because it means i end up with a smaller elbow dart. bending my arm more than 90° caused the sleeve hem to ride up and isn't all that comfortable, but raising my arm further than shoulder level also causes the hem to ride up and isn't all hat comfortable, and that's fine by me because it's simply not what fitted sleeves are for. they're supposed to look nice when you just stand there and do nothing, or maybe do light desk work or stuff, clothing that fits this way was literally invented to show that you did not need to do physical labour. if i wanted/needed a larger range of motion, i would draft a sleeve with a flatter cap, more ease and a straighter sleeve body. plus honestly: how many activities even require you to bend your arm more than 90°? bicep curls, i guess (which you sure wouldn't wear fitted, woven clothing for)?
i just have some tinkering left to do with the elbow level. you'd think it would be exactly halfway between bicep and wrist, but nope! there's so many things we take for granted about the shape of our bodies because they just seem to make sense, but it's not true. bend your arm as far as possible and you'll find that the wrist does not line up with the bicep level. will have to see what to do about that.
