It seems the off the shoulder just won’t quit, and I’m ok with that. But over time what we’re seeing is lots of different plays on the gathered sleeve and how it looks and feels. One style I’ve noticed is those with some sort of embellishment around the elbow, whether it be straps, buckles or gathers. Not so hard to do yourself it turns out!
DIY Flare Sleeve Top
You need
- An oversized shirt
- Fabric (in colour to match)
- Elastic
- Scissors
- Measuring Tape
- Sewing machine and thread
How to
- Measure the off-the-shoulder circumference around your chest and upper arm. Cut one length of elastic to this measurement. Then measure the circumference of your arm just above your elbow and cut four pieces of elastic to this measurement.
2. Cut off the top of the shirt to create the off-the-shoulder neckline.
3. Fold and pin down the raw edge making sure it is wide enough to fit the elastic through. My elastic was 2cm wide so I made the elastic tunnel 2.5cm plus a 0.5cm seam allowance.
4. Sew the elastic tunnel down with the 0.5cm seam allowance away from the raw edge. Make sure to leave a gap about 4cm wide to thread the elastic through later on.
5. Cut the sleeves to about elbow length.
6. Pin and sew the edge to create a tunnel for the elastic like you did for the top raw edge in steps 3-4.
7. Thread the elastic into the tunnels through the gap and sew the elastic ends together to create a circle. Sew the tunnel gap closed.
8. For the bell portion of the sleeves, cut two rectangles of fabric measuring a length about 2 x the circumference around your arm (I cut mine 50cm wide) and 30 cm long.
9. Sew the rectangles into a cylinder then pin and sew down the the hem (1cm seam allowance) and elastic tunnel (3cm seam allowance). Thread the elastic through as you did for the previous steps.
10. The bell sleeves and elasticated shirt should look something like this.
11. To attach the bell sleeves to the shirt sleeves, pin and sew the two together on the inside of the sleeve (the seam closest to the body).
All done!
Photos by Bryant Lee
