uurghh poofy sleeves

[Auryn]

I am working on a medieval dress for a small faire in a couple of weeks.
The pattern I am using doesnt show the sleeves being poofy, but when I baste them I keep ending up with extra diameter of fabric at the top of the shoulder.
I tried just doing little baby pleats- the dress ends up looking mormon for some reason.

how do I cut the extra width off the top without shortening the sleeve??

[peacewing]

Is it like a cap/gathered sleeve at the top?
It's achieved by slashing and spreading the basic sleeve block - but only at the "hump" at the top of the sleeve pattern. This has the effected of raising it's height and lengthening the curve. To reverse it, cut off the top of the sleeve pattern, so you just have the "bell curve" part of the top. Slash the sleeve "hump", compress it by pivoting at the bottom points and smooth out the line. (The bottom width of the piece will remain the same.) It will decrease the length of the curve, and lower the height of the "hump".

[gem]

What she said!

The "less correct" way I have used is to trace the curve of the armscye onto craft paper, and then overlay the pattern piece to compare the shapes. Trace the armscye curve onto the pattern piece so they match exactly. This will eliminate all poofiness.

But you should probably try what Peacewing suggests, because it sounds like that's how you're supposed to do it!