Several months later, I am still working on my Jasika Blazer. I got stopped by travel, COVID, and the holidays as well as a lack of motivation. But, I am back at it and determined to finish.

The sleeves are now on and that was a significant victory. The bulky denim was hard to gather without wrinkles even with hand basting but after multiple attempts on each sleeve, I got it done. Now the sleeves need some bolstering at the sleeve cap (top of the sleeve) to give a smooth curve to the shoulder instead of a bump at my shoulder joint.

What’s a Sleeve Head?

If, like me, you’ve never heard of a sleeve head, here’s what a curved sleeve head looks like on its own and compared to the pattern piece:

What is it made of?

A sleeve head can be made out of cotton batting, heavy cotton fleece, or other material that is stiff enough to stay put rather than travel up the shoulder. I tried both a 2″ x 9″ heavy flannel rectangle cut on the bias and the curved sleeve head that came with the Closet Core Tailoring Supplies pack.

What does that look like installed?

First, let’s look at it inside out.

The sleeve head is sewn into the seam allowance at the shoulder. You can see how bulky it is in the seam allowance. Ultimately, I graded that out.

Now let’s look at it right side out. On the left, without the sleeve head, you can see the bump of my shoulder joint and the space behind my shoulder caused by the forward rotation. On the right, which also has a shoulder pad, it’s still there but less obvious.

The results are not overwhelming though and it introduces other problems like the outline of the sleeve head being visible in certain positions. There’s some debate in my mind about whether the effect is worth the effort. Plus, it takes room away from the armhole. The Jasika blazer arm holes are quite snug.

However, on a store-bought jacket of thinner material, it would absolutely make for a smoother shoulder drape. I now appreciate some of my jackets much more because I know what’s inside them. I’ll definitely look for sleeve heads in any future jacket that I buy.

What’s Next

This is what I’ve got to so far. Next, I need to work the fit adjustments into the lining pattern pieces.