The Cutting Class

Proenza Schouler, SS12.

Sleeve shapes and panelling are a subtle yet directional way that designers are controlling the feel of their collections. The raglan sleeve in particular has enjoyed a renaissance over the past few seasons as both a reference to the couture and the athletic. Raglan variations have been visible on broad kimono style sleeves as well as on raglan sleeve styles that cut in close over the curve of the shoulder, often using a seam up the outside of the arm to take in the shaping over the sleeve head, where a traditional set-in sleeve would look more square.

For the Proenza Schouler Spring-Summer 2012 collection, the raglan sleeve panel was made more jagged and angular, and this was then carried through into the panels in the torsos of the tailored garments. This angular use of panels was then also reflected in geometric prints, and picked up in angled seams, folds and pocket angles on other garments.

More examples of raglan sleeves can be seen here: Raglan Sleeves at Richard Nicholl».

Below is an overly simplified version of a set-in sleeve pattern being turned into a raglan pattern. This is purely to show how the sections of the front and back patterns become joined onto the top of the sleeve head. The dart section that appears at the top of the raglan is to shape the sleeve over the shoulder - but this line can also be split all the way down to the sleeve hem to split the sleeve into two pieces. This will allow for closer fitting across the curve of the shoulder.

Visualising patterns in a basic way like this can often help you to understand the fundamentals of a pattern change, before following more detailed instructions in a pattern reference book. If you can understand and picture what the end pattern pieces will roughly look like, it will help you to make all the steps in between. 

Catwalk Images from Vogue.co.uk». Technical images by The Cutting Class.

Roksanda Ilincic, RST12.

The recent Resort 2012 collection from Roksanda Ilincic is full of exaggerated shapes and crisp, eye-popping colours. The palazzo pants and draped tops channel the elegance of the 1930s, picking up a little of the 1970s along the way, while the cocoon shaped raglan sleeves have a more futuristic look to them. The colour palette is filled with luminous citrus tones, offset by bright blues and pure white and these tones are used to consistently offset each other, with contrast waistbands and bound edges adding vibrant hits of colour and making the pieces vibrate.

The fabrics choices have obviously been specifically chosen to support the designs. Light but rigid fabrics provide crisp structures where needed to provide bouncy peplum ruffles and shapes that sit away from the body. These more structural pieces are balanced out by the softness of the draped garments, that wrap around the body and gather gracefully around the shoulder and wrists of the longsleeve pieces.

Images from Vogue.com».

When a collection gets referred to as sporty it can be often be due to the fabrics, or the detailing such as the use of sporty closures, velcro, double ended zips etc. In the case of the recent Richard Nicoll collection the sporty edge was achieved without the sacrifice of elegance through the adjustment of the seams on the sleeves.

Raglan sleeves are often used in sportswear from sporty jackets through to baseball style t-shirts. They can be spotted by the seamline that runs diagonally from the bottom of the armhole up towards the centre of the neckline. In contrast, a standard set in sleeve is generally a squarer look where the seamline runs up around the shoulder and back down into the armhole on the other side.

By using raglan sleeves instead of standard set in sleeves Nicoll managed to subconsciously remind us of sporty bomber jackets while also enjoying the benefits of a streamlined, curved shoulder since the shape of the raglan sleeves allows the fabric to fall closer to the natural shape of the shoulder curve.

The raglan shape is often teamed with a dropped under arm shape such as a batwing silhouette to allow for movement, especially in fabrics without stretch. 

In the pictures below I’ve also highlighted where there has been an additional seam added along the outside edge of the arm, or where the same shape has been achieved by using a dart. Because sheer fabrics have been used in this collections both the seams and the darts would have been french seamed to ensure they look neat from the outside.

When you look through the full collection you will also see that Nicoll has echoed the shape of the raglan by using halter neck styles and other diagonal front seam lines to continue the sportswear theme into all the pieces. This is also the reason why the few standard set in sleeves in the collection seem to jump out due to their squarer shape.

Richard Nicoll, AW11. Images from Vogue.co.uk.

Sometimes we see photographs of famous designers doing what they were so well known for and it’s nice to understand on a technical level why these images are so iconic.

We see many images of Chanel and other designers fitting sleeves onto garments, and these are such important images because fitting a sleeve can completely change the look and feel of a jacket. The sleeve head area is especially important and can be tricky to manipulate, which is what makes images like the one above so interesting.

The sleeve head area or sleeve cap is the area across the top of the shoulder running from about halfway up the front armhole to about halfway down the back of the armhole. (See Image 5 below) Unlike other seams on the garments which are exactly the same length and so are easier to sew, in the case of the sleeve head, the seams do not match exactly.

This means that the distance around the armhole on the sleeve piece, is not exactly the same distance as the armhole on the body of the garment. The size across the top of the sleeve is a larger area which allows space for the arm of the jacket to curve up and over the curve of the shoulder.

Sometimes the difference between the two seams can be anywhere from 3 - 6cm or even more depending on the design of the garment, the size of the shoulder pad etc. This means that there is 3 - 6cm of extra fabric along this edge which needs to be eased into the seam. This can be done by slightly gathering the seam edge, steaming and shrinking the fabric into a nice curve or hand basting the fabric together. At all times the aim is to make the curve smooth, and avoid any small unwanted puckers on the seamline.

Image 1 from HarpersBazaar, Image 2 from APinkWorld, Images 3-4 from SQUA.RE, Image 5 from LuxuryandLust, Image 6 from TheThreeGraces.