We have had a few questions about whether it is possible to use the Ashton Top Sleeves Expansion Pack to add sleeves to the Lawrence Top and Dress. We checked across sizes, and we're happy to report that it totally works! In this post we will walk you through how to do it.
In our testing we sewed up a Lawrence Dress with flutter sleeves and a Lawrence Top with straight short sleeves. I love the way the flutter sleeve compliments the whimsical gathers of the dress view!
You will need:
- Lawrence Top and Dress pattern
- Sleeves Expansion Pack for the Ashton Top
- Pen or pencil
- Tape
How to use the Ashton Sleeves for Lawrence:
Before we jump in, make sure that you are using the same size and cup size in both patterns. The illustrations will show size 18 in B-cup. Note that your size alignment may look a little bit different.
1. Print or trace off the following pattern pieces:
- Front (1) from the Lawrence Top and Dress pattern
- Back (2) from the Lawrence Top and Dress pattern
- Front Shoulder Extension (5) from the Sleeve Expansion Pack
- Back Shoulder Extension (6) from the Sleeve Expansion Pack
2. Draw stitching lines ⅝” (1.6 cm) away from the shoulder seams on all four pattern pieces. In our testing, we found that we don’t necessarily need to draw in side seam stitching lines since they are easy to true up. However, having stitching lines on the shoulder seam made things easier when lining these pattern pieces up because of the different seam allowance angles on these seams.
3. Starting with the Front (1) and Front Shoulder Extension (5), line up the two pattern pieces along the center front. Slide the Front piece up or down until the stitching line at the high shoulder point lands on the stitching line on the Front Shoulder Extension piece. Make sure the center fronts are still lined up.
The angle of the shoulder seams will be different, and this will be more apparent in some sizes than others. The high shoulder points of the two pattern pieces may line up or not. It is okay if none of these things happen as long as the two pattern pieces are lined up along the center front and the high shoulder point of the Front piece lands somewhere on the shoulder stitching line of the Front Shoulder Extension piece.
4. Tape the two pieces together. Trim off the front neckline to match that of the Lawrence. True up the shoulder and cut any excess paper off. True up the side seam, blending the top of the Sleeve Expansion side seam into the Lawrence side seam before the dart and not the other way around. We need to preserve the Sleeve Expansion armscye completely without adding or removing any width at the side seam, otherwise the sleeves won’t fit.
The Sleeve Expansion armscye should now be integrated into Lawrence's Front piece. Make sure to use the Sleeve Expansion armscye notch when you sew!
5. Repeat step 3 for the Back (2) and Back Shoulder Extension (6), lining up the two pattern pieces along the center back and shifting the Back so that the high shoulder point lands on the shoulder stitching line of the Back Shoulder Extension piece.
6. Tape the two pieces together. True up the shoulder and side seams and cut any excess paper off. The Sleeve Expansion armscye should now be integrated into Lawrence's Back piece. Make sure to use the Sleeve Expansion armscye notches when you are sewing!
It is worth mentioning again that all sizes will line up differently along the shoulder seam. In our example of size 18 in B-cup, the back shoulders and neckline lined up almost perfectly. Yet check out size 24 in the D-cup below. There is extra length at the high shoulder point of the Back Shoulder Extension piece, and the back neckline is a bit lower. This is okay! Remember that your particular size may not look exactly like the illustrations, and you may need to do more or less truing and trimming.
What about sizes 32-34?
The Lawrence Top and Dress pattern comes in sizes 0-34, whereas the Ashton Sleeve Expansion comes in sizes 0-30. You could grade the Sleeve Expansion pattern up to the size you need and then follow the steps above to add sleeves to Lawrence. Or you could use Sleeve Expansion size 30 pattern pieces on your size 32-34 Lawrence pieces.
This method works, but here is a word of caution: double-check the Sleeve's bicep circumference to ensure it will fit you. We also recommend making a muslin as you may also need to lower the armscye slightly.
1. First, line up the two pattern pieces along the center front or back. Note that the illustration shows Front pattern pieces, but the steps are the same for the Back. Slide the Lawrence pattern piece until its high shoulder point lands on the stitching line of the Sleeve Expansion pattern piece.
2. Next, slide the Sleeve Expansion pattern piece out towards the side seam of the Lawrence pattern piece. For size 32, slide the pattern piece ½” (1.3 cm). For size 34, slide the pattern piece 1” (2.5 cm) out towards the side seam.
3. True up the side seam, blending the Sleeve Expansion underarm to the Lawrence side seam above the dart. The shoulder seam will need to be redrawn by connecting the shoulder end of the Sleeve Expansion pattern piece to the neckline end of the Lawrence pattern piece.
As always, no matter what size or how nicely the pattern pieces lined up, we highly recommend sewing a muslin before cutting into your nice fabric.
Example Makes
I’m so happy with how the dress sample turned out using the Ashton Sleeve Expansion flutter sleeves on the Lawrence Dress. We tried the full dress view in a beautiful block print from Blackbird Fabrics and it looks and feels amazing.
The flutter sleeve feels like an extension of the shoulder ruffle that comes with the Lawrence Dress. I really love wearing this version and I can see myself reaching for it a ton in the summer as a breezy option, and in the winter as a house dress.
For our second example, we made the Lawrence Top with view A of the Ashton Sleeve Expansion. This is a really nice and soft rayon crepe with a scribble polka-dot pattern. I love this coral colour and I think this top has a really nice elegance to it. I could see this working well in a more professional setting but it makes a nice casual top, too.
I hope you give Lawrence a try with the Sleeve Expansion for the Ashton Top!
