Mike, when I was a beginner, I had lots of trouble attaching collars because I used to pin them onto the blouse as if the *edges* of the fabric had to fit together. It took me ages (and some well-pointed advice from a friend) for me to realise that I had to pin the collar *along the stitching line* and then baste it. Basting can be a pain, but if you're a new sewist or if you're faced with slippery fabric or a painstaking curve to fit, it's sure worth the effort!
When you pin your collar in at first, make sure the ends sit well and butt up correctly against the front neck opening. Pin there. Next, pin the centre point of the collar to the centre point of the garment. Now, continue pinning each section at its mid-point (ie. halving the distance between each set of pins, if you get my drift). In this way, you're easing the collar onto the blouse evenly and proportionally. Hopefully, you won't end up with a great bubble of excess fabric to find easement for and can continue to the next step, which is running a quick basting thread along your line of pins. Secure it at each end of the collar, stitch carefully and make sure you secure your stitching at either end as well. Withdraw the basting thread and make any nicks or cuts (eg. into corners or to release curved edges). Check the lie of the collar and then trim the seam allowances if necessary.
I don't have a pic of your pattern, but the above method works for most collars. The secret is to remain relaxed and patient.
Best of luck to you and let us know how you get on! :-D
OK, I finally finished Jill's pj's. She really loves how they fit and how they feel. My next project is going to be a bit more complex than the PJs. I'm making a top. The pattern I've selected is Simplicity 9411, view E with short sleeves. Hopefully one of you has the pattern and either has enough experience to get this without having done it, OR has actually worked with it...
I've spent a couple of hours looking over the pattern and instructions. I'm planning on getting started today. I need a few pointers. So far, I ran a line of stitching about 1/2 to 5/8 inch from each cut end, and washed and dried the material. Its a light weight cotton. I think it qualifies as broadcloth (much finer weave than oxford). I got some fusable interface, and matched some thread to a swatch. It may get a lot more clear as I assemble it, but I want to make sure I understand what some parts are telling me.
Where I am really unsure of this (without having the parts in my hands) is in attaching the collar to the body. Maybe it will be clear once I get to that part, but any comments any of you have will be appreciated.
Congratulations on the pj's, and making Jill happy.
One note of caution, Mike: The bottom of the slashed neckline opening should be reinforced with iron-on interfacing, as it forms a weak spot. The instruction probably tell you to run a line of stitching along that area before joining the facing, but do the interfacing, too. Also, when you sew the slash, sew down one side, and with the needle _down_, pivot the fabric 90 degrees, take just one _tiny_ stitch, needle down again, pivot 90 degrees and sew up the other side. When you cut the slash, be very careful not to cut that stitch at the bottom.
Let us know if you run into difficulty with the collar.
Thanks Beverly. Thats why I started this...makes me feel good to make her happy. Must be why we are still in love, approaching our 23rd wedding anniversary.
Thanks for the pointers. I'm not sure about the interfacing. There is inferfacing that I'm going to bond to the front facing, and the facing gets stitched to the front before making the slash. Yes, I'll still do the reinforcing stitches, but do I need another piece of interfacing anyway? Since the facing has to be flipped back to the outside to put the collar on, and then flipped back in for the finishing, can I work without the reinforcing stitches and add them as one of the final steps in making the top?
I'm sure I will...the instructions seem to switch from fairly easy normal english to "sewing geek" in that section :)
I would (and I _do_) add a small bit of light-weight bondable interfacing to the area near the point at the bottom of the slash, on the _blouse_ fabric. Think about it, the "seam" in that area tapers to _nothing_. A little strip of light-weight bonded interfacing might just get the blouse through several washings before it frays out. You don't want your work to end up in the rag bin. ;-) If the interfacing is light-weight, it won't add bulk, even though it's on both the blouse fabric _and_ the facing.
Mike, good job on the pjs. And three comments on the new project... Does she have a similar shirt in her wardrobe, with a front slit? If so, you might measure it and compare. Some patterns get a bit enthusiastic about the length of slits, while others offer just barely enough room to get your head through. Also compare the measurements of a woven shirt that fits her well to your pattern (and don't forget the seam allowances!).
Also, I'd suggest you take a couple of pieces of scrap fabric and stitch them like the front opening, complete with shorter stitches near the point of the V, and then clip, turn and press it. Some of the gotchas for this include not clipping close enough to the stitching, which makes a lump; clipping through the stitching (my favorite!) -- use scissors that cut nicely to the tips and clip only one layer of fabric at a time, and you won't go though the stitching line!; and not pressing so the facing side gets just a bit of the fabric from the front rolled toward it (sometimes called "favoring"). I suspect you'll find a wet presscloth will improve the pressing there nicely.
Collar shouldn't be hard. If you want to save yourself some effort, trim the seam allowance on the outside edges of the collar (not the neck edge) to 1/4", and the neck edge to 3/8".
Make sure you use good interfacing. In fact, it's not a bad idea to press some on a scrap and wash and dry it a few times to see what it does. before going further. Fusible interfacings will feel pretty wimpy when they're not fused, but firm up nicely when fused. If you use too heavy an interfacing (a common problem), things start looking "wrong".
Although I don't have your pattern, some advice I have recently read and implemented on collars with success was as follows:-
Stay stitch the blouse body pieces round the neckline - this means if you are using a 5/8" seam, you should sew round the neckline at 1/2".
Now clip to the staystitching but not through it, more clips on the really curved bits, less on the straighter bits (I usually put more clips in the shoulder area).
This means you can now temporarily straighten the neckline area - which makes getting the collar on that much easier!
As the others have said, line up the collar and check you have it centred and that its fits BEFORE you sew - I learnt this one the hard way - please accept my assurances that you don't want to do it! ;-).
Oh, trust me...I know why basting is important...you should have seen the first turkey I roasted...oops...wrong basting... Since my first project was some nylon undies for Jill, I learned the importance of basting..keeping that slippery nylon lined up really needed the basting.
What I want to know is, I've seen references to machine basting. My machine doesn't specify any such setting. So just set to the longest stitch, and set the top thread to "loose" (I forget now if thats a lower or higher number on the dial, I suspect lower, and I will check before I do anything)? I'm assuming that should be right because the loose setting would allow the bottom thread to get pulled out and then with nothing holding the top thread in place except the friction of the thread through the material, it should also pull off easily...
Similar to pinning the waist or leg elastic into the panties, yes? In general terms I mean. I would have suspected aligning the back center of the collar, and then work around to the front of the collar, to check for fit. I am fairly patient, so I'm not against pinning and then unpinning if I've screwed it up.
Thanks. I think I POd my younger sister though...she's been sewing for years and still has a hard time stitching in a straight line...
Close enough, I think...she has something thats a polo style shirt. I'll check some of those critical measurements. Thanks for the pointer...
Hmm...I'm a bit concerned about this. I don't think I have any scrap similar, or large enough. Guess I'll have to buy a yard of something similar to practice on. Necessary to use stabilizer on the scrap/practice material?
Mental note: get another pair of scissors...Jill's gonna love that...I'll have two collections...scissors and smithing hammers...at least the hammers stay outside in the forge shed...
Lets see if I get this:
1 2 3 4 | | | | | | | | | | | | garment | | | |
4 is the garment layer, 3 is the neck edge of the collar, 2 is the interface layer, 1 is the outside edge.
I had some help picking out the interfacing. Nice older lady in the sewing/craft department..saw the material, knew what I wanted it for (ie collar, facing etc) and showed me what she used...
Hehehehehe! When we were kids, it PO'd my older sis that I could make the sewing machine go where I wanted it to, and she could barely keep it on the fabric! She's MUCH better now, and enjoys sewing clothes for herself. She also comes to me for tips...
Something like that would do fine: so long as it has much the same 'hand' (feels and drapes the same way), it should do. A little tip: while you are still new to handling all these different fabrics, unless the one you buy is OUCH! expensive, buy a bit extra for doing this experimenting, and keep the experiments! Makes some notes about how you did whatever it is, and file them away together: you'll soon build up a really handy reference.
Ha! Just think of them as tools... And one more pair of scissors will hardly be noticed. It's just that when you have 20 pairs...
You're well on the way to becoming a fabricsmith! ;)
Once you get her basic size figured out for each brand of pattern (they all have slightly different fit models), picking the size will go much easier. Until then, measuring existing clothes is quite helpful.
Ragbag? Piece of old sheet, old pillowcase, torn shirt... Yes, I'd use at least a square of interfacing on the point of the V of the fabric, just so you get the feel for turning and clipping the V nicely.
The ones that cut clear to the tips without chewing fabric are usually more expensive, alas. Try the scissors you're using now... clean up the blades with rubbing alcohol or a little booze, and check to see if they will then cut clear to the tip. If they've got a screw instead of a blank pivot point, you may be able to adjust them there. I have two favorite pairs of short fat scissors that cut nicely to the tip... one type is called "tailor points" and they're meant for trimming fairly hefty fabric, and the other is called "duckbill applique scissors", nominally for trimming one layer with the scissors blades held parallel to the fabric, but they should also cut nicely to the tip. Photos here:
formatting link
NAYY.
Ya lost me... let me try to explain how I do collars.
In the discussion below, I'm going to assume that the collar is sewn directly to the neck edge; there is no collar band.
Let me try a bad ascii diagram of a whole collar. finished outside edge of collar ______________________________________ \__^______________________________^__/ notched side that gets sewn to the neckline
Start off by making two copies of your collar pattern piece, which will look sort of like this: __________ |_____^__/ cb cf (cb is center back of collar, cut on fold; cf is the side that's going to go to the center front)
remove 3/8" of the seam allowance from the side that will be the finished outside edge of the collar (the un-notched edge of the pattern piece) and from that slanted end. That leaves you 1/4" seam allowance on the outside edge and slanted edge of the collar.
remove 1/4" from the side that will be sewn to the neckline, the one that has the notches.
Now you've got two trimmed down pattern pieces (and you've transferred that notch on the neckline side to your new pieces, too). Take one of the copies you've just made and mark it "top collar" and set it aside. Take the second copy and mark it "undercollar". Now trim an additional scant 1/8" off the outside edge and the slanted edge of the piece marked as under collar. Don't trim the neck edge (notched edge) of the undercollar any further.
(Hah, the woman's crazy, but there's a method to the madness!!! Bear with me a bit longer!).
Now take your pattern for the front and back and trim 1/4" off the neck edge only of both front and back. Keep the notches -- you'll want them for matching up the collar and neckline.
What all this fussy trimming has done is give you a collar and a neckline that will go together much more easily than if you use the standard 5/8" seam allowance, and you'll have to do little or no trimming and clipping, which saves you sewing time and keeps you from making trimming blunders. I'd for sure rather make a cutting mistake on a chunk of paper (easy to recut) than on a half-finished garment (much harder!).
Personally, I use a very lightweight fusible interfacing on both the top and bottom collars, so the next thing I do is figure out how big of a piece of interfacing I'm going to need to cut both collars out of, and cut out a rectangle of that size. Then I fuse it to the shirt fabric... just a big old rectangle. Make sure you use plenty of steam and let the fabric/inter- facing completely cool on the ironing board before you pick it up. This helps prevent all sorts of bad stuff like the interfacing bubbling or becoming delaminated. Fold the fabric in half and cut one each top and bottom collar, which are now already interfaced for you.
Because this is your first collar, let's also baste a guideline for you on the neck edge (notched edge) of the top collar. Set your machine for a long stitch, and stitch just a smidge less than 3/8 of an inch from the neck edge, and while you're at it, press that neck edge seam allowance over (interfacing to interfacing). Not necessary, but this pressing seems to help beginners get everything together easily. Open the collar piece back out flat after you've got the seam allowance guideline pressed.
Now construct the collar: Pin the top collar and the bottom collar together, right sides together, matching the CB of the outside edge and the slanted edges. But wait, the piece that's marked "undercollar" is 1/4" shorter than the "top collar" -- this is ok... that shortage of fabric is going to help you turn the edges of the top collar to underneath when you're pressing. Turn your machine back to a regular stitch length and sew from the center back of the outside edge of the collar (the un-notched edge) to the collar point on one side, leave the needle down and pivot at the corner, and sew down the slanted edge to the end. You'll have to slightly stretch the undercollar while you're doing this. Tie off (I typically just use some really short stitches at the end of the seam and call it good... I rarely backstitch.) Now stitch the other half of the collar from CB to the point, turn and stitch to the neck edge, and tie off.
What you're doing by starting at the center back and stitching to each end separately is called "directional sewing". Because the feed dogs move the bottom piece of fabric a smidge faster than the top piece, if you start at one neck edge, sew to the point, and then along the outside edge, to the point, and then to the neck edge again, you'll usually find you're pushing a little bubble of fabric along, and the top piece gets longer and longer, and the two collar pieces wind up slightly skewed, and then the collar doesn't lay right. By stitching from CB to points to neck edge, you've distributed any skew symmetrically, and the collar lays much more nicely.
Now, turn the collar right side out, smoothing it on the ironing board. Dig those points out so they're nice and crisp and symmetrical. Put the top collar towards the ironing board cover (you can tell which one it is... it's got the basting along the notched edge), and press, aligning the notches of the top and undercollars. Automagically, a little fabric from the top collar will roll toward the undercollar on the slanted portions and the outside edge, so your seam will be slightly rolled to the underside of the collar as it's worn (take a look at a commercially sewn shirt!). With most fabrics, there's no need to grade or clip the collar because the
1/4" seam allowance you've used will accomodate the slight curve nicely. (PS: want a really crisp, hard press on the collar edges? Press them on a piece of unpadded plywood instead of the ironing board.)
At this point, the shoulder seams of the shirt will be sewn, and the neckline will have been staystitched at a smidge less than 3/8". DON'T SKIP STAYSTITCHING. It keeps things stabilized (there's a fair amount of bias in a neck shape, and it will stretch if you're not super-careful!) and the collar will fit the neckline without serious applications of cussin' and hair tearin'.
Now pin the undercollar to the neckline edge...right side of undercollar goes to right side of garment. Match CB and notches. Pin if you're confident, hand baste or use WonderTape if you're not confident. Again, starting at CB, stitch to the edge and tie off; back to the CB and stitch to the other end and tie off. Clip the neck edge that you've just sewn and press. Press the neck edge of the top collar (the one you pre-pressed back under. Pin in place, matching notches and CB. Stitch and press.
This is a modified version of the methods used in factory sewing, and I find it *much* easier than the usual instructions in patterns and in home sewing books. By reducing the seam allowances, you eliminate the need for clipping, and by using a 3/8" seam allowance on the neck edge, everything just seems to line up better. If you'd like to see a pro do it, ask your public library for Margaret Islander's "Shirts, Etc." video
formatting link
teaches modified RTW sewing techniques that make sewing a heck of a lot faster, and much easier, imho.
Good! Do a test fusing of the interfacing and your fabric and try to get it to lift off when it has cooled completely. Since I tend to fuse the interfacing to the fabric and then cut out the pattern piece (much less fiddly!)... I toss a sheet of unprinted newsprint down on my pressing board, the the fabric (right side to the newsprint) and then lay the interfacing (sticky side down) over the fabric, and press. If I've cut the interfacing a bit too big, the edges stick to the newsprint instead of my ironing board.) I also use a piece of wet-then-wrung-out muslin over the interfacing as a press-cloth, and use my iron dry. The wet muslin makes the steam for fusing, and if a corner of the interfacing is turned back, the goo goes on the muslin, not my iron.
Kay, the lazy shirtmaker
PS: I'm only slightly fanatical about having both an undercollar and top collar pattern pieces. What I've found is that if the pattern company provides both top and undercollar pattern pieces, they've generally done a much better than average job of drafting the rest of the pattern, too.
InspirePoint website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here.
All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.