A simple way to add volume to your pattern pieces is to use the “slash and spread” method! This is a simple way to hack the patterns you already have for a new look – you can create puff sleeves, bell sleeves, or add volume to a bodice. Here are two turtlenecks I made using the same pattern – the but for the olive one, I added volume to make a bell sleeve.
This method is as simple as it sounds – cut into your pattern piece, up to (but not through) the shoulder seam. Then spread out the pieces and fill in the gaps by taping or gluing down to another sheet of paper.
This way, the original size of the pattern is maintained at the seam, but there is additional volume through the rest of the sleeve. Cut around the new borders of your pattern, sew like normal, and there you go! For puff sleeves, you would do the opposite – adding volume at the sleeve cap, and keeping the normal size of the pattern at the cuff. For these turtlenecks, I used the free Monroe Turtleneck pattern – which is nice, but not very size inclusive.
One of my first ever sewing projects was this Zadie Jumpsuit, and I added volume at the sleeve using this method before gathering back to size and attaching a cuff. This is a great method to have up your (large) sleeve, and I find it so satisfying to get multiple uses out of a pattern.
Hannah Q. 