Hey all,
Collars are a big accessory for S/S’12 and I know there are lots of DIY tutorials on how to embellish a collar from a pre-made shirt, but as I don’t have an abundance of these hanging around, I wanted to find out how to make my own!
I managed to find a great pair of videos from SecretLifeOfaBioNerd on YouTube.
The first shows you how to draft the pattern to your own measurements, which is really great: http://youtube.com/watch?v=Hnb14aF_LQA
The second shows you how to sew the pattern together: http://youtube.com/watch?v=ahWmkPYnpNU
However I adapted this slightly as I added a collar stand with a button to fasten it and to add a more “shirt-like” look.
Collar Stand Tutorial
I made the collar stand by making a long rectangle, the length of my neck measurement + 5cm (2″ approx) and about 7.5cm (3″ approx) but this depends how thick you want your collar stand to be!
Then cut out the fabric from your drafted stand pattern, added fusible interfacing and fold in half so the stand is half the width.
Next placed your constructed collar into the fold near the top and iron down a small seam allowance on the collar stand.
Then topstitch the collar stand down at the long open edge, sandwiching the collar in between the two layers. MAKE SURE YOU PIN THIS FIRST, it saves a lot of unpicking later! 🙂
Then you will just have the two open short sides to close. I did this by tucking the ends of the collar stand in and sewing in a curved shape. I did this because I think it’s slightly more like a real shirt but you could do this with a straight edge if you want!
Finally to finish off I tried it on, marked where I wanted my button to be and sewed a simple buttonhole using my sewing machine and cut it open. I then hand stitched my button in place and voila! You’re finished!
N.B. because I only cut my collar straight it was a little bit wrinkly when I sewed it for a curved neck collar. If you want to make it really smooth, use a French curve (which I don’t have), or cut some slits into your pattern draft to add more curve. To me it didn’t really matter as the collar covers the stand when you wear it!
This is a really great simple pattern and is great if you have a lot of scraps in nice prints. My fabric was actually from Ikea and I had some scraps left from a dress I made.
I would love to see pics if any of you try this out and hear if my cobbled together collar stand pattern works for anyone else!
Happy sewing!
J x
big bird in a small cage 