Trace your basic bodice with darts and 8 to 10cm wearing ease at bust and waist circ. Trace also your basic sleeve to elbow length.

If you’re interested in deepening the topic, our method for drafting raglan sleeves is included in our basic blocks course/module 2.

On front and back bodice, widen 1,5 to 2cm from side seams, then drop armpit by 2cm and redraw bottom part of armholes (the new line will be flatter than the original one).

Still on bodice pieces, mark the level (notched in red in the image) 7 to 8cm above new armpit point.

On back bodice:

• measure 3cm from high shoulder point along neckline and identify a point
• connect it with a straight line to the previously found level (notched in red). This straight line identifies the raglan section that will be merged to the sleeve
• find the straight line midpoint, raise a perpendicular 1cm long and draw a curve from neckline to this point, to previous level. This curved line is the limit of back bodice.

On front:

• measure 4,5 cm from high shoulder point along neckline and identify a point
• connect it with a straight line to the previously found level (notched in red). This straight line identifies both the raglan section that will be merged to the sleeve and the limit of front bodice.

Back has an overlap that gives extra ease (freedom of movement towards front), which is not needed on front as we usually do not move our arms towards back 🙂

Trace back raglan piece and back bodice piece.