Hi Sewists,
I’m back with the last instalment of my Christmas shirt. Last time I focussed on the Tower Plackets and the Cuffs, this time its all about the collar.
I never could understand why the collar would fit perfectly one time but not another time, when I was using the same shirt pattern. But if I’m switching techniques like overlocking/ French seaming or altering the button band between sewn-on and folded-over, then there must be minor discrepancies building up all over the place, which in turn have a pretty major effect on the size of my neck openings!
For the collar to fit perfectly the neck opening must be the right size. Of course. So it is essential to sew the shoulder/ yoke seams accurately and take great care when folding or attaching the front button band on the shirt. Since making this particular shirt, my new rule-of-thumb is to check the collar stand against the neck opening before I’ve stitched the fronts in place – if the stand doesn’t fit properly I find it much easier to adjust the front button plackets until the neck opening is correct, rather than having to deal with a seemingly wrong sized collar later on. This may seem elementary but was quite a revelation to me!
Another thing is; once you’ve got the neck opening right, staystitch it! This simple row of stitching inside the seam allowance can be the easiest thing to overlook, but do so at your own risk! That neckline will stretch out, under the lightest of touches, without even a care for your project. You may get away with it once, or even twice, but no one can escape it forever! Be warned!
You’ve only got four pieces to make a collar. Six if you include the interfacing. As half the pieces look the same, I think it’s good to know what each one is called and where it ends up…
And as I said in my last post, I’m no guru and there are plenty of methods out there that all work marvellously. This is just the quickest and easiest way I’ve found (so far) to get a decent result without any dramas.
First things first, make sure all your notches and markings are accurate – especially the centre-fronts and attachment notches on the collar stand. (Once, I skipped a few markings and ended up sewing the upper collar upside down- I spent the whole day wondering why my collar looked like a pie-crust!)
1: Press the seam allowance over on the bottom edge of the inner collar stand, the interfaced one. Put it to the side.
2: Take the outer collar stand and pin it to the neckline, remember the seam allowance will overhang at each side. To help avoid puckering around the curves you could snip into the seam allowance a little bit, just up to the staystitching- but if you’re using a 1cm seam it’s less likely to pucker anyway. Sew it in place and press the seams up towards the stand. Be aware of your stitching line and collar placement notch.
3: Sew the collar pieces together and turn them right sides out. Before topstitching double check that the collar fits properly to the stand then pin it in place. I pin the interfaced under-collar to the outer collar stand, right sides together.
4: Then place the inner stand (with the interfacing and the presses seam) right side down, on top of the collar. Make sure the notches and seam allowances match up.
5: I find it useful here to mark my stitching line onto the collar stand; at least the curve, just to be sure it’s all in the right place.
6: Once you’re happy it’s all lining up and pinned in place, sew it together, taking it easy around the curves and matching up exactly with the shirt fronts.
7: You can notch into the curves and trim the seams before turning, but I prefer to use my pinking shears; they’re quick, neat and do the job.
8: Once it’s turned and pressed, the folded seam on the inside should match up perfectly with the stitching at the neck line.
9: Stitch it in place from the right side, catching the open seam underneath. I always start at the centre back of the collar stand, not backstitching but leaving the threads long to pull through & tie off at the end.
10: Give it all one last press and your collar is done.
Taking my time over this shirt has really paid off, I’m so pleased with how it’s come out. I think it’s my neatest collar ever! So, if I follow my own instructions in the future they should all come out like this, right? Fingers crossed for that! I’ve got it ready in good of time for Christmas-jumper-day at work… I hope I don’t get picked on for not wearing a jumper! … I also hope it washes well and dries quickly because I want to wear it every day! I’ve got a nice dinner with friends coming up and I definitely want to wear it for Christmas Day too!
In other sewing news, I’ve got a big project ticking away in the background, that I’d love to finish by Christmas… but doubt I will. Also a few little projects that must be ready by December 22nd or else my name will be mud! Hopefully I’ll get to share those with you soon!
Until next time…
Happy Sewing!
Notes to self:
- Make all marks and notches accurate and clear.
- Check the collar stand against the neck opening before sewing the front plackets.
- Staystitch the neckline.
- Snip the neck seam (esp around the shoulders) to the staystitching to avoid puckering.
- Check the upper collar fits before topstitching it.
- Mark the curved stitching line.
- Tie off threads.
- Blimey…! Anything else…?! 😅
- Oh yes, put the big project away and get on with the little projects ASAP!
I like this method too. I never worried about the size of my shirt collars but I think that might be a girl-thing? Or is it just a me-thing? Because when i do my husband’s they have to be able to be buttoned up, not tight but no gaps. So it can be quite a fiddley thing to fit and sew. You did a great job. I love that fabric…. and I don’t wear Christmas jumpers neither! 😖
I never normally do my collars up (& I don’t anticipate wearing a tie with this shirt!) but it’s nice to get a good consistent fit! I couldn’t be happier with the fabric too!
😃👍🙏😊
another great post, Andrew. I’m sewing my husband a shirt for Christmas so trying to absorb your tips before I tackle things. Changing my lifetime habits is really hard though!
There’s no point changing a habit if it works! I’m still trying to find my ‘best practices’ ! Hopefully some of the tips will help though 🤞👍🙏👏😊
However you got there it is indeed a very nice collar. I made one yesterday too. It takes me several hours to make and sew in a collar – careful work and finished by hand stitching the inner collar stand to the inside of the shirt. I don’t draft the collar until I have the front and back panels of the shirt attached and the carefully measure – twice or more. The measure should be 6% longer than the neck measure and if it isn’t than the drafting has to accommodate any small discrepancy in the shirt construction. I build the complete collar before attaching it to the shirt. Recently I found it better to put the fusing onto a cotton voile and sandwich that between the collar pieces. It means I don’t have that bubbling on the under collar after the garment is washed. I think the glue is important for the stiffening and I hate the feel of the store bought sew-in interfacing and I don’t like a limp collar.
Thank you. Some great notes there. I really should be drafting my own shirts by now! Fusing a cotton voile sounds like a good plan! 👍🙏👏
Thanks for these details and appreciate you taking the time, l do my collars much the same way but some are better than others. I am trying to attempt to use less pins as so many people use none hoping to get smoother results, will see if it works for me. Do have a great Christmas and New Year and look forward to your next projects, my best wishes and thanks.
Thanks Bill. Hopefully mine will be more standardised now…?! I guess the amount of pins I use depends on the fabric, I try not to use too many as you only have to pull them out again!
Merry Christmas & a happy new year! 🥳