On Sleeves and Gussets

Let me preface this by saying that I'm not a historian, I'm a hobbyist. That said, I've spent a lot of time looking at the development of clothing between the 10th-11th centuries and the 14th-15th centuries (both of those periods have rather transitional aspects as the centuries turn, due to political reasons, and its those transitional periods I'm using as markers, more or less) focused in western Europe. The clothing ranges from the rather simple to the rather complex. For the most part, though, it can be seen as relatively simple from a construction standpoint.

However, if you're new to sewing, if you're new to reenactment, certain aspects of historical patterns can be intimidating. Sleeves are one of them. Fitted sleeves with the deep armscye (the seam that joins the sleeve to the body, shoulder to armpit) that you see in the 14th and 15th century European clothing is not exactly beginner-friendly. And a shaped armscye became popular sooner than some people may think. The gown of St. Elizabeth of Thuringia is a great example! http://www.personal.utulsa.edu/~marc-carlson/cloth/elizabeth.htm If you click that link and look at the line drawing of it, can you see how the sleeve is made in two pieces, and not the neat little trapezoid/square that I drew in my dress diagram? I gather that that vertical seam is because of fabric widths. Imagine those two pieces sewn together to make the complete sleeve. It has what looks like an integrated gusset! Or something that provides a similar function.  And you can see the seam in the body of the dress where it fits. The seam looks like it's at the side-back. Not the true side, but still close to the underarm.

What I'm getting at here is that you could plausibly integrate your gusset into your sleeve, if cutting it and inserting it as a separate piece is intimidating.  Without changing anything about your dimensions from the previous pattern, you'd just trace the gusset onto the edges of the sleeve, as it would be if it was sewn on. That means it's a triangle. This is what the piece would look like, more or less.

It's your sleeve, with half your gusset (divided diagonally) attached to the shoulder side top and bottom edges. And with this, you're actually one step closer to getting a shaped sleeve! This is an oversimplification of the pattern, but it functions, it's comfortable, and you may find it easier to sew.

A Postscript: I want to stress that gussets, as separate pieces, are a medieval practice. Even when you get into the deeply shaped armscye seams of the 14th and 15th centuries, there are still often gussets, sometimes multiple ones, and some of them make creative use of bias to optimize movement and stretch. They're definitely something worth trying and learning about. This method is meant to make the simple act of sewing easier and more accessible. I definitely hope it helps someone!