In version 2 of FreeSewing, the sleevecap of Brian was redesigned to be more adaptable to different types of sleeves and garments. As a result, the sleevecap alone now has 20 options to control its shape. Whereas that may seem a bit overwhelming at first, understanding how the sleevecap is drafted makes it easy to understand what all the individual options do.
The _bounding box_ of the sleevecap is a rectangle that is as wide as the sleeve, and as high as the sleevecap. Inside this box, we will construct our sleevecap later.
The width of the sleevecap (and thus the width of the sleeve at the bottom of the armhole) is equal to the distance between points 1 and 2. That distance depends on the measurements of the model, the amount of ease, the cut of the garment and so on. For our sleevecap, all we need to know is that we start with a given width. And while that width can be influenced by other factors, we can not influence it by any of the sleevecap options.
The height of the sleevecap is equal to the distance between points 3 and 4. The exact height is a trade-off between the measurments of the model, options, ease, sleevecap ease, and the fact that the sleeve ultimately has to fit the armhole. So the height may vary, and we don't control the exact value. But there are two options that control the shape of our sleevecap:
In other words, point 4 can be made higher and lower and, perhaps less intutitively, it can also be changed to lie more to the right or the left, rather than smack in the middle as in our example.
With points 1, 2, 3, and 4 in place, we have a box to draw our sleevecap in. Now it's time to map out our _inflection points_. These are points 5 and 6 on our drawing, and their placement is determined by the following 4 options:
Ultimately, our sleevecap will be the combination of 5 curves. In addition to points 1 and 2, the four _anchor points_ that are marked in orange in our example will be the start/finish of those curves.
The points are _offset_ perpendicular from the middle of a line between the two anchor points surrounding them. The offset for each point is controlled by these 4 options:
- [Desplazamiento Q1 de Sleevecap](/docs/patterns/brian/options/sleevecapq1offset) : Controla el perpendicular de desplazamiento a la línea desde puntos 2 a 6
- [Desplazamiento Q2 en durmiente](/docs/patterns/brian/options/sleevecapq2offset) : Controla el perpendicular a la línea desde puntos 6 a 4
- [Desplazamiento Q3 en durmiente](/docs/patterns/brian/options/sleevecapq3offset) : Controla el perpendicular a la línea desde puntos 4 a 5
- [Desplazamiento Q4 en durmiente](/docs/patterns/brian/options/sleevecapq3offset) : Controla el perpendicular a la línea desde los puntos 5 a 1
We now have all the start and end points to draw the 5 curves that will make up our sleevecaps. What we're missing are the control points (see [our info on Bézier curves](https://freesewing.dev/concepts/beziercurves) to learn more about how curves are constructed). These are determined by the so-called _spread_.
While the sleevecap in Brian (and all patterns that extend Brian) have a lot of options, understanding how the sleevecap is constructed can help you design the exact sleevecap shape you want. To do so:
What's important to remember is that you're only ever controlling the shape of the sleevecap. Whatever shape you design, it will be fitted to the armhole, meaning that its size can and will be adapted to make sure the sleeve fits the armscye. However, the shape you design will always be respected.
