The Perfect Puzzle Sew-A-Long: Sleeve Construction

Ok ladies, we are now on the 6th step of the sew-a-long, and we're getting really close to the end!!  Today we're working on sleeves!!  I chose to do short sleeves with a cuff for my dress.  So, the first thing you'll want to do is grab your sleeve pieces that you cut out way back on July 14.  My sleeve is cut out of a white stretch lace and my cuff piece is a grey rib knit.

Take just your cuff piece for now and fold in half like this to find the center.

Then, fold in half lengthwise matching those center points and pin it right in the middle.

Now you're going to find the center point of your sleeve, along the straight edge and match that up to the center point on your cuff piece.  Pin them together (matching up the center points) like I have here, where the raw edges of your cuff are lined up with the raw edge of your sleeve, and the folded cuff edge is nearest the curve in the sleeve.

I trimmed my cuff piece (the grey part) down more than the pattern calls for, I like my cuff to give my sleeves more of a "bubble" effect so I always make them a bit smaller.  So, you can see that my cuff piece is smaller than my sleeve in the picture.  I did that on purpose!

Take your pinned pieces over to your machine and get ready to sew them all together along the green edge.

 You're going to match up the end of you cuff with the end of your sleeve and sew through all three layers at the same time.

I like to sew a few stitches to make sure everything will be secure and then I stretch the cuff piece to match the length of the sleeve as I sew.  Remove your pin when you get to that point and match up the other end of your sleeve and your cuff and sew all the way to the end.

When you're done, you'll have a sleeve with a cuff that looks something like this.

You can leave your serger tails again at this point, they'll be cut off when we sew everything up in a few days!

Repeat all those steps above for your other sleeve and when you're done, you should have two little short sleeves just begging to be sewn on your dress!

That's all there is to it!  The hardest part of this step is stretching everything and keeping it all lined up as you sew, and really you get the hang of it pretty quickly.  Just sew slowly and take your time.  If you mess up, no big deal, keep calm and grab the seam ripper!  Happy sewing!


Links:
Hailey Bug's Patterns Facebook Group
Craftsy: The Perfect Puzzle Set
Craftsy: The Perfect Puzzle Set Boy Add-on
Etsy: The Perfect Puzzle Set
Sugarplum Cuties Facebook Group

Sew-A-Long Blog Post Links:
Intro to the Pattern
Print, Assemble, Trace & Cut your Pattern
Cutting your Fabric
Constructing your Bodice
Attaching the top to your Bodice
Sleeve Construction