I finished a nice dress shirt only to find that I could not button the top button.
What is the best way to increase the neck line about an inch?
Can I just make the center front a half inch wide on each side?
This was a practice shirt and I want to get it right before cutting my hand woven linen.
js
If the rest of the shirt fits well, just cut a new collar band with enough ease to go round and button comfortably. Attach this to the neck of the shirt a little further from the cut neck edge than the last one, and see how it goes.
If you add fabric at the centre front, the whole front of the shirt becomes wider, throwing things out further down. You may end up with it too wide across the front chest and shoulders.
No. First, you'll need to fit the collar band around your neck for a correct fit. This step is like the very first thing one should do before making a shirt. You could buy a pattern with the correct neck size for starters. Otherwise, you might want to compare your current pattern's collar band/stand to one on a shirt that fits you well. Then, assuming the rest of your current pattern fits you well, just expand your band pattern so that it matches the one that fits you. Then you will need to make the curve of the neck opening on the shirt fronts and yoke pieces a little deeper. I recommend cutting no more than 1/8 inch off the length of the entire curve and then checking to see if the collar band fits. If the band is still too big, you can take a bit more off but you must be careful not to cut the neck opening too big. Once you get it right, be sure to reflect that on the yoke and front pattern pieces. Obviously, you will need to adjust the collar size as well. Feel free to ask questions if you don't understand. It is very difficult to describe these things without illustrations.
This is really a fudge so I reiterate that it is far better to use a pattern with the correct size neck. Which pattern are you using by the way? My experience is that most men's dress shirt patterns of recent years have been ill-fitting with way too dropped shoulders and huge yokes that go down far too low in the back. If you're serious about making shirts, you really should get a copy of David Page Coffin's book on shirtmaking. There is no better readily available instruction.
Hand woven linen?
Phae
Dear Jack,
When you purchase a shirt, you measure around your neck where the collar turns over. But when you make a shirt, you measure around the base of your neck, add 1-1/4 inches, plus seam allowances. This gives you the proper size for the stand, including the allowance for buttonhole and underlap. The collar is then drafted to fit to the center fronts (that's why you have to measure at the BASE of your neck when drafting). In times when really wide neckties are in style, the collar is cut back even further.
If you're using a commercial pattern, you must adjust the neckline on the body. Then, it's safe to enlarge the stand and collar at the center back.
A further note. If you have an athletic type neck, you may want to slash the collar in about three places, and open the free, outside edge of the collar (without changing the neck edge), so that the collar lays flat when buttoned. I'm sure you've seen muscular men with their collars curling upwards--this is solved by slashing the outer edges until it lays flat.
Teri
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