Sleeve length
Sleeve length runs from shoulder point to hem or wrist. Short, cap, and long sleeves need different hem checks.
Sewing pattern guide
Sleeve measurements guide
Sleeves must match both body measurements and the armhole they are sewn into. The sleeve cap is the most important compatibility area.
A sleeve lives a double life: it has to fit your arm, and it has to sew into a specific bodice armhole. Only the first part comes from the tape measure — arm length, bicep, and wrist describe the arm itself, while the sleeve cap is geometry the generator computes to match the armhole. Measure the arm carefully and the rest of the draft follows; measure it casually and no amount of cap adjustment will rescue a sleeve that binds at the bicep or stops short of the wrist.
The generator asks for four body values — arm length, bicep, wrist, and elbow length — plus bicep ease and an optional cap height. From these it drafts the cap curve, places the bicep line and elbow guide, and reports the finished cap length so you can compare it against the bodice armhole before printing. As everywhere on the site, you enter body measurements only, in centimetres: ease is a separate field, and seam and hem allowances are drawn afterwards as the dashed cutting line.
You will need a flexible tape measure and, for the length measurements, a helper or at least a mirror — measuring your own arm from shoulder to wrist forces you to bend the arm you are measuring. Wear a thin top or none; a sweater adds 2–3 cm to the bicep, and that error goes straight into the width of the whole sleeve.
Use this guide
Related pattern templates
Open a matching generator after reviewing the guide, then preview the calculated draft before export.
Generator
Basic sleeve pattern
Generate a sleeve block and check cap shape, bicep, wrist, and armhole compatibility.
DetailSleeve cuff pattern
Create a matching cuff with fold line, overlap guide, and button marker.
GeneratorBasic bodice pattern
Draft a bodice block with neckline, armhole, shoulder, length, and waist shaping.
Bicep circumference
Bicep controls upper sleeve width and movement. Too little ease restricts lifting and bending.
Wrist or hem opening
The wrist or sleeve hem must match the planned finish: open hem, cuff, elastic, or buttoned closure.
Sleeve cap
The sleeve cap curve must sew into the bodice armhole. Length and shape both matter.
Elbow guide
Long sleeves may include an elbow guide to help review bend position and shaping.
Cuff compatibility
If a cuff is used, its finished opening should match the sleeve wrist or hem edge plus construction needs.
Before cutting fabric
After generating a sleeve, compare sleeve cap length with the armhole, check bicep ease, wrist opening, elbow position, grainline, and hem or cuff allowance.
Step by step
How to take each measurement
Find the shoulder tip first — three of the four measurements start from it. Take everything on the arm you will measure the bodice against, keep the arm relaxed unless a step says otherwise, and read the tape without twisting your torso toward it.
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01
Find the shoulder tip
The shoulder tip is the acromion — the bony point at the outer end of the shoulder where the arm begins to drop away. Raise your arm to shoulder height briefly and a small dimple appears at the joint; that dimple marks the point. Lower the arm and keep a finger (or a small sticker) on it: this is the zero point for arm length and elbow length.
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02
Measure the arm length
From the shoulder tip, run the tape down the outside of the arm, over the elbow, to the wrist bone — with the elbow slightly bent, as if your hand were resting in a pocket. The bend matters: a sleeve drafted from a straight-arm value comes out 2–3 cm short the moment you actually use your arm. Stop at the prominent wrist bone, not the base of the thumb.
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03
Measure the elbow length
From the same shoulder tip, measure down the outside of the arm to the point of the elbow, arm bent as before. This positions the elbow guide on the draft — useful for checking where the sleeve will crease in wear and, on fitted long sleeves, where any future elbow shaping belongs. It is normally a little more than half the arm length.
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04
Measure the bicep
Wrap the tape around the fullest part of the upper arm with the arm hanging relaxed at your side — not flexed, not lifted. Snug but not compressing: the tape should not dent the skin. This single value sets the width of the entire upper sleeve, so if you take one measurement twice, make it this one.
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05
Measure the wrist
Measure around the wrist directly over the wrist bone, tape flat and snug. If you plan a sleeve you can push up your forearm, or a cuffed finish, note that the generator's cuff tools work from this same value — measure it honestly rather than loosely 'for comfort', and control the opening through the design instead.
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06
Choose the sleeve length and cap height
Pick long, short, or cap length in the form; for short and cap sleeves, the length field measures from the same shoulder tip down the arm. Cap height is an advanced field — the vertical height of the cap curve. Leave the default unless you have a reason: the generator derives a workable cap from your bicep and the armhole, and manual cap height is a tool for deliberate mobility-versus-fit trade-offs, not a fitting shortcut.
Typical measurement ranges
Orientation values for adult women's sizes — use them to catch a reading that slipped, such as a bicep measured over a sweater or an arm length taken with a straight arm. Real arms vary more than charts; long arms on a small frame are common and are exactly what a generated sleeve handles well.
| Reference size | Bicep (cm) | Arm length (cm) | Wrist (cm) |
|---|---|---|---|
| EU 36 | 26–28 | 58–60 | 15–16 |
| EU 38 | 27–29 | 59–61 | 15.5–16.5 |
| EU 40 | 28–30 | 59–61 | 16–17 |
| EU 42 | 30–32 | 60–62 | 16.5–17.5 |
| EU 44 | 32–34 | 60–62 | 17–18 |
| EU 46 | 34–36 | 61–63 | 17.5–18.5 |
Arm length tracks height, not dress size — the columns move only slightly because a size chart averages over many heights. If your bicep sits two columns away from your other measurements, that is a fit reality, not an error: enter the real value and let the ease field do its job.
Common measuring mistakes
Measuring the bicep flexed or raised
A flexed bicep reads 2–3 cm larger, a raised arm changes the muscle shape too. Both produce a sleeve that is too wide and a cap that no longer matches the armhole cleanly. Let the arm hang loose at your side and relax it deliberately before reading the tape.
A straight arm for arm length
The elbow needs travelling room. Measured over a straight arm, the sleeve is correct only while you stand still; reach for anything and the hem rides halfway up the forearm. Keep the elbow slightly bent and follow the outside of the arm over its point.
Starting from the neck instead of the shoulder tip
Arm length starts at the acromion, not at the neck base — the neck-to-wrist measurement belongs to different drafting systems and is roughly a shoulder width longer. Mixing the two conventions produces a sleeve around 12 cm too long. Find the dimple at the shoulder joint and start there.
Measuring over clothing
A sweater sleeve adds centimetres to the bicep and hides where the wrist bone is. Measure over bare skin or one thin layer. The same goes for the shoulder tip: shoulder pads and thick seams move the visible 'corner' of the shoulder away from the bone.
Guessing the wrist value loosely
Adding room at the wrist while measuring means the hem or cuff opening is drafted oversized and can never be made crisp. Measure the true wrist over the bone; hem ease and cuff fit are design choices made later, from an honest number.
Drafting the sleeve against an old bodice
The cap is computed to match an armhole. If the bodice was generated months ago from different measurements, the reported lengths will not correspond to anything you can sew. Generate bodice and sleeve from the same measuring session, and re-check the armhole figures before printing the sleeve.
From measurements to a sleeve that fits
Bicep ease is mobility
For a woven sleeve, 3–5 cm of bicep ease is the practical minimum for a fitted look you can still bend an arm in; 6–8 cm reads relaxed. The ease field adds this on top of your body value — which is why the bicep must be measured relaxed and bare. Less than 3 cm in a non-stretch fabric is a sleeve you will fight every time you drive or type.
Cap height trades fit for movement
A taller cap makes a slimmer, smarter sleeve that hangs cleanly when the arm is down but lifts the whole garment when you raise it; a shorter cap widens the sleeve and frees the arm at the cost of underarm folds. The default suits a classic block. If you adjust it, change one thing at a time and re-check the reported cap length against the armhole after every change.
Match the cap to the armhole, not to hope
The sleeve generator reports the cap length, and the bodice generator reports its front and back armhole lengths — compare them before printing. A small surplus of cap over armhole is correct: that cap ease is what lets the sleeve head roll smoothly over the shoulder. A cap shorter than the armhole, or more than a few centimetres longer, means one of the two drafts is working from wrong measurements.
Verify before cutting
Print at 100% — never fit-to-page — and measure the 5 × 5 cm test square before assembling the sheets, whether you use the A4 tiled PDF, the copyshop PDF, or an SVG sent to a plotter. Then walk a tape on edge around the paper cap curve and around the paper armhole to confirm they correspond, pin the sleeve seam, and slide the paper tube over your arm: it should clear the bicep and reach the wrist bone with the elbow bent. A one-sleeve muslin basted into the bodice armhole is the cheapest insurance in sewing.
Frequently asked questions
Do I add seam or hem allowances to the sleeve measurements?
No. Enter bare body values in centimetres. The generator drafts the sewing lines from them and adds your chosen seam and hem allowances separately, drawn as the dashed cutting line around the piece — including the deeper allowance at the hem.
What is cap ease and why is the cap longer than the armhole?
Cap ease is the small planned surplus of the sleeve cap length over the armhole length. It is eased in — distributed, not gathered — around the top of the cap so the sleeve head can curve over the shoulder instead of pulling flat. Compare the lengths both generators report: a modest surplus is by design.
My arms are different sizes. Which one do I measure?
Measure both and enter the larger arm — usually the dominant one, and the difference in bicep can reach 1–2 cm. A sleeve slightly roomy on the smaller arm is invisible; a sleeve tight on the larger arm is unwearable. For a large difference, cut per-arm from two printouts.
How long should a short or cap sleeve be?
The short/cap length is measured from the shoulder tip down the outside of the arm, like the long version. Typical short sleeves end 20–25 cm from the shoulder point, around mid-bicep; cap sleeves around 10–14 cm, covering the shoulder without reaching the bicep's fullest point. Check the endpoint against your own arm in a mirror — a hem that lands exactly on the fullest bicep both feels and looks tight.
Which sleeve measurement causes the most problems?
The bicep, because errors are invisible until the arm bends, and every other width in the sleeve is scaled from it. Arm length is the runner-up, almost always through the straight-arm mistake. Measure both twice, relaxed and bent respectively, and confirm the printed scale with the 5 × 5 cm test square before cutting.