Domination & submission _ the BDSM relationship handbook ( PDFDrive )

Sleeves
A BDSM sleeve is typically a long tube, constructed of soft leather, canvas or
other heavy material, sewn closed at one end, and sporting one or more buckles
or straps along its length. It is designed for the insertion and immobilization of
one or both of a Bottom’s arms, typically behind the back. Single-arm sleeves
are most often used in pairs, with straps, buckles or D-rings used to attach one
sleeve to the other. Dual-arm sleeves may consist of two separate arm-tubes
permanently attached to one another, or a single large sleeve that is wider at the
top and tapers toward the end where the Bottom’s hands meet behind the back.
Extra touches may include shoulder or chest straps to hold the sleeves up, wrist
straps to secure the hands tightly, decorative lacing or buckles, and extra
reinforcement of the sleeve for rigidity.
The odds of finding BDSM sleeves in your typical sex novelty store are pretty
low. They tend to be available only from specialty retailers that cater to the
fetish crowd, and can be somewhat pricy, ranging anywhere from $150 to $400,
depending on the materials and quality of construction.
There are some real advantages to using sleeves. First, sleeves immobilize the
arms in a way that wrist cuffs simply cannot. Wrist cuffs may be good at
keeping a person’s wrists together, but a flexible person will always still have
plenty of room for movement. Second, sleeves take a great deal of stress off the
wrists themselves, transferring and distributing most of the stress to the entire
length of the arms, instead. This greatly reduces the chances of unintended pain
or injury to the wrists. Third, sleeves with multiple straps, D-rings or other
attachment points along their lengths provide a multitude of ways to integrate the
immobilization of the arms into your overall bondage scene, and gives you more
control of a Bottom’s posture and positioning. Finally, sleeves have a unique
aesthetic quality that ranks right up there with Shibari when it comes to artistic
impact. In other words, they look cool as hell.
The potential safety concerns related to the use of sleeves include all that we’ve
previously said about the need for continuous supervision and monitoring blood
circulation and breathing. There are two additional concerns when it comes to
the use of BDSM sleeves. The first is the fact that the hands are often hidden
from view, which makes it harder to see if a person’s fingertips are turning
purple or blue from poor circulation. This can be further complicated by
numbness in the extremities, which means the Bottom may not realize that it is