How to Sew Puff Sleeves

Last Updated: March 23, 2023

Puff sleeves are shirt sleeves that are created by adding gathering to the sleeve pattern along the shoulder seam (cap) and/or the band (hem) in order to create volume and fullness, or a puffy sleeve effect. Puff sleeves are commonly found on toddler dresses and gowns, adult formal wear and button-up dress shirts. You do not need to be a seamstress to create your own puffed sleeves, but you should have some basic sewing knowledge and be prepared to pay close attention to detail. Follow these steps for how to sew puff sleeves.

Steps

1
Decide on a design for your puff sleeve pattern. Consider the following aspects of pattern design:
- Sleeve length
- Gathering. You can choose to place gathering at the cap, the hem or both. Additionally, you need to decide how far around the circumference of the cap and the hem you want your gathering to span.
- Fullness. A fullness of 1 is a flat sleeve and a fullness of 3 is an extremely voluminous puffy sleeve.
2
Take measurements. You will need to record the following measurements: length of the sleeve from the shoulder to the hem, length of the sleeve from the armpit to the hem, circumference of the sleeve around the lower hem and circumference of the sleeve around the shoulder seam.

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3
Add 1 inch (2.54 cm) to the circumference measurements and 1.5 inches (3.8 cm) to the length measurements to account for the seam allowances and the hem.
4
Make a pattern. Lay pattern paper out on a flat surface and draft a pattern for your custom puffy sleeve design.
- Take your hem and shoulder seam measurements and multiply them by your chosen fullness. Record these measurements for pattern making.
- Use a straight edge to draw a horizontal line the length of your hem measurement (multiplied by the fullness) along the lower edge of the pattern paper.
- Measure up from each end of the lower hem line the distance of the lesser sleeve length measurement (armpit to hem) and make marks.
- Draw a line parallel to the lower hem connecting the 2 marks above the lower hem line. This is the armpit seam line. Use a drafter's triangle to make sure the center point of the lower hem lines up perfectly with the center point of the armpit seam line.
- Draw an upward vertical line the length of the greater sleeve measurement (hem to shoulder), starting at the lower hem line and extending through the armpit seam line. Make a mark at the upper point of your line. That is the center point of your sleeve's puff.
- Take the measurement for the circumference of your sleeve at the shoulder seam and multiply it by your fullness. Cut a thread to that length.
- Fold the shoulder seam length thread in half to find its center point. Line that point up with the uppermost center point (puff sleeve center point) of your pattern. Use tape or a fabric pin to connect the thread to the pattern paper at their center points.
- Form the thread into a bell shape, matching the left end to the corresponding left end of the armpit seam line and vice versa for the right end.
- Determine where you want your gathering to be on the sleeve and mark the beginning and ending points on the bell shape. Be sure to start at least 0.5 inch (2.54 cm) in from each armpit seam line end to account for the seam allowance.
- Draw vertical lines from the left and right armpit seam line ends to the corresponding hem line ends. You now have your pattern.
5
Lay your pattern out on a double layer of fabric (for 2 puff sleeves) and pin into place.
6
Cut out your pattern, being sure to cut through both layers of fabric.
7
Mark the center point of the sleeve seam (at the top of the bell shape) and mark where on the bell you want your gathering to begin and end.
8
Fold each pattern piece in half, right side in, along the vertical center point line from shoulder to hem.
9
Sew puff sleeves from the armpit seam line to the hem, creating the basic sleeve cylinder.
10
Turn out the sleeves so they are right side out.
11
Baste stitch, by hand, around the perimeter of the bell shape of the puffy sleeve pattern where you want the gathering to be.
12
Gather the basting stitch until it fits inside the sleeve opening of the shirt you will be sewing it into. Finesse the gathering until it is evenly distributed along the bell shape.
13
Pin the puff sleeves into the shirt.
- Turn the shirt inside out and fit the sleeves into the sleeve openings from the inside of the shirt.
- Line up the raw edges along the shirt's sleeve openings and the sleeves' shoulder seams, matching the center points of the sleeves to the center points of the shirt shoulders.
- Pin the center points together first, then pin the gathers on the bell into place along the shirt sleeve opening, working from the center out, until you've pinned the entire circumference of the sleeve to the entire armhole opening of the shirt.
14
Sew puff sleeves. Set your sewing machine to a tight stitch and sew the pinned fabric edges together, taking your time and being careful not to disrupt the gathers.
15
Finish the sleeve hems.
- Gather the puffy sleeve hems before folding and stitching if you incorporated hem gathers into your design.
- Fold the hem twice into the inside of the sleeve 0.5 inch (1.27 cm) to enclose the raw fabric edge.
- Stitch the hem into place along the upper edge of the folded part of the hem.

Community Q&A

Question

Does this work with stretchy fabric?

Community Answer

Yes, but it would be extremely hard to sew, so it would be better to use a fabric like cotton.