How to sew Jade with a puff sleeve

Here’s a quick tutorial on how to create a puff-sleeved Jade tee!

Jade is an indispensable part of my everyday uniform; it’s knit so it’s comfy and goes with jeans. I’ve made many versions of this pattern not only “as-is” — there are four different sleeve lengths and two interchangeable neckline options that come with the pattern — but also some variations like a turtleneck or a flat hem (see this post: 3 Merino Jade Tees for some examples).

For this version, I used the Jade Tee Sewing pattern and added width to the sleeve piece by slashing and spreading it at the center, gathered the top and bottom of the sleeve, and added double-fold cuffs to the sleeve ends. Here’s how!

HOW TO SEW A JADE WITH A PUFF SLEEVE

Note: You need more yardage for this mod because the sleeve is wider, so I’d recommend creating the pattern piece for your sleeve first before cutting it out of fabric.

Step 1. Modify the sleeve pattern piece

a. Trace the sleeve pattern piece in your size, then cut it down the center along the grain line arrow. For mine, I made the sleeve 3/4 length, so I also discarded the lowest portion of the sleeve.

b. Spread the pattern piece apart until there is a space of 4” (or more for an even fuller sleeve!) between the two sides. Tape a larger piece of paper or tracing paper underneath, and reconnect the two halves of the pattern at the top and bottom by redrawing the top curve (remember to add the center notch) and drawing a straight line at the bottom. I also redrew the sides of the sleeve vertically downward to add some extra “puff” at the bottom of the sleeve as well (blue lines, diagram b).

Now cut out two sleeves from your fabric using this new pattern piece, along with the rest of the pieces for the pattern (front, back, neck binding, etc).

Step 2. Create the cuff pieces

For the cuffs, I cut out two cuff pieces, each 4” tall and the same width as the original 3/4-length sleeve hem (diagram c). It helps to measure the bottom of your sleeve pattern piece before you spread it apart.

Step 3. Attach the sleeves

Sew the front and back of the tee together along the shoulder seams. Next you will gather the tops of the sleeve caps between the notches, and then pin and attach them to the armholes (Hint: for a more detailed how-to, see this post: How to add a long sleeve to Trillium).

Before you can attach the cuffs, you need to sew the side seams and sleeve seams of the tee together, so do that now.

Step 4. Attach the cuffs

Gather the bottoms of the sleeves. Sew the short ends of each cuff together to create a loop, then fold it in half and pin it to the bottom of the sleeve. Sew together and flip the cuff downward to finish the sleeves. (Hint: for a more detailed how-to, check out this tutorial: How to add a cuff to a gathered sleeve)

And there you go! You can make this version of Jade starting with the PDF pattern in my shop. I’m wearing it here with my caramel-colored raw silk Rose Pants; pattern also available in print and PDF in my shop.

Check out the Jade page - it’s got more Jade-related posts and tutorials!

PS. If you liked this post, you might also like my post on how to sew beautiful knit hems.