Collars and attachments

Making the collar piece

Tutorial on assembling collars, not attaching them, by Mary Danielson Perry at WeAllSew. (Of course use your own brand of machine, the Reverse Pattern foot is the basic all purpose foot. Plus your own edge-stitch foot.)

She does emphasise getting the lengths at the two ends of the collar the same, which is essential for a successful final look.

And getting a good point. See also Making a perfect point by David Page Coffin in Seamwork magazine.

What she doesn’t deal with is getting the shapes of both ends of the collars the same.
The angles of pointed corners need to be the same.
The curves of rounded collars need to be the same.
I use a template to draw on the stitching lines.
And a curved collar needs to be well clipped and turned out, so the curved edges are smooth. See this post by Sew4Home. For some outward curves I find a quick method is to trim the seam allowance with pinking shears.

A Way We Sew gets collar shapes to match by using the interfacing as a template.

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Attaching the collar

Several methods.
None of these are very easy. Some of these are challenging, but there are often easier alternatives for making the same general style.
In my opinion, the methods are listed here in order of increasing difficulty.

If you need to ‘fudge’ the fit of collar to neckline, try to do it in the shoulder seam area.
If you do it in the 3-4″/10cm at the collar ends, or the CB, it will be very visible. . .

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With a complete neckline facing

When you are comfortable with applying facings, this collar application is just one step further.

from Vogue Sewing Book 1984

Here’s a detailed photo tutorial from Closet Core patterns.

More notes in this post from Sewingplums : Adding into a neckline facing.

If you need a back facing pattern to fill in the facing strip, it’s easy to draft your own.
First trace the neckline shape of the main pattern piece you’re making a facing for (black line on diagram is the cutting line).
Add the stitching line(s) (red dashed lines).
Then draw a line 2-3″ (5-7.5 cm) from the neckline stitching line. This (red solid line) is the outer edge cutting line of your facing pattern.

Much clipping of seam allowances needed :
– clip the body and facing neckline s-as, so the edge of these pieces can lay straight while attaching the collar,
– clip the collar neckline s-as, so they can bend in wear to lay around the complex 3D curves at the bottom of the neck.

This is the quickest and easiest method of adding a collar. It isn’t all that quick and easy 😀 but it is more so than the other methods.

This is the method used in most lined jackets and blazers.

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Using a bias strip

from McCall’s Sewing in Colour 1964
middle diagram – black strip over collar is wrong side of bias strip

More information in this post from Sewingplums : Adding to a front band.

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With no facing – as in attaching a 2-piece banded shirt collar

from Lynn Cooks’ pdf

I don’t know why nearly everyone describes the most difficult way of doing this. Here’s a detailed photo tutorial on attaching a band collar in easy steps, from Andrea Brown of Four Square Walls.
Similar method with some added tips in a photo tutorial from Wardrobe By Me for sewing a collar band. Of course you can add a main collar piece before sewing the two band pieces together, as in Andrea Brown’s tutorial.
Here’s another less traditional way of attaching a banded collar – a pdf by Lynn Cook of Australian Stitches.

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With a front facing but no back neck facing

from Simplicity 2134

I don’t know why some people include this method in ‘easy’ patterns. I have a low opinion of this method – weak unless done using proper methods, not easy to do well. Though it does look neat if you can do it well ! It may be a recent invention, it isn’t mentioned in that great sewing ‘bible’ the Vogue Sewing Book, or in McCall’s Sewing in Colour book of the same era.

Part of the top collar neckline seam allowance lays towards the garment body, part towards the collar. So you have to clip at the changeover point, which makes a point of weakness. To strengthen the end of this snip to prevent tearing :
– use a top collar piece with fused interfacing, or
– staystitch in the stitching line of the top collar where the notches are snipped.
You also need very accurately placed stitching around the change point.

Where you fold in the back collar seam allowance :
– some instructions tell you to stitch the back section by hand.
– some tell you to fold in the seam allowance less 1/8″-3mm and stitch in the ditch from the outside of the garment. I think this is stronger.

I don’t feel the incentive to look for links to good tutorials, but I am preparing diagrams and instructions.

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Shawl collar with inset corner

The under collar is cut-on to the front fabric piece.
Another one with a tricky technique to support a change in direction – the inner corner seams attach to the shoulder seam on one side and the back neck seam on the other.

Again, some people manage to think they can call patterns with this feature ‘easy’.
What is easy is attaching a wide strip around the neck and front edges of a jacket, like a wide version of the band at the neckline of a kimono. That is sometimes called a ‘shawl collar’, or better – a ‘faux shawl collar’.

A while back, when I looked for a tutorial for a shawl collar with inset corner, there weren’t any good ones. I need to look again.
Meanwhile, here’s a photo tutorial from Paper Theory patterns on sewing an inset corner.

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First published February 2021

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Sleeves into armholes

Inserting sleeves into armholes often needs sewing together different shape curves – outward curve of sleeve, inward curve of armhole. Many people find this challenging.
If so, develop skills by working through a sequence of sleeve-adding techniques.
These aren’t alternate techniques which can all be used on the same pattern. They need different patterns :
– dolman/ batwing,
– raglan,
– square underarm,
– cut-on,
– set on flat,
– set-in in the round.
I’ve put them in the order in which they add new skills.

This post just includes the common basic armholes. There are several more, these are some :
– several ways of making a square armhole (such as Fit For Art, Kwik Sew 3377).
– or add a gusset – typically : add one into a square underarm, or into a slash in a cut-on sleeve underarm (see Gusset on Techniques page.

Many sleeves have gathered versions, which I haven’t shown.
Apart from doing the gathering, gathered sleeves tend to be easier to insert as fit accuracy is not so crucial to getting a good looking result.

More options for sleeves in this pinterest board.

Your own pattern making
For the first four armhole types : examples show how easy it is to make your own patterns.
With flat-set and in-the-round sleeves, they look and feel better if the fit is good. As the curves of the fabric pieces are different, it is much more complex to develop a pattern. And essential the stitching lines match. Instead get some frankenpattern skills (combine sections from several patterns), so you can use armholes and sleeve caps from other patterns that you already know work well !

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Dolman/ batwing

image source

Avoid sewing an armhole seam altogether ! The ‘underarm seam’ may go straight from waist to elbow. I tend to forget this style exists because these sleeves are very unflattering on people with larger hips than bust, but they are usually very easy to sew. If you have large bust and/or biceps, you may prefer to avoid stiffer fabrics, and make this shape mainly from knits of various weights.

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Raglan sleeves
Raglan sleeves have two separate stitching lines for each sleeve. And no shoulder seam – the sleeve fabric piece goes up over the shoulder and ends at the neckline.
The easiest have completely straight sewing lines.

left – my diagram, right – Sew Different pattern

Or the seams are slightly curved, with armhole and sleeve edge curves the same shape.

Burda discontinued pattern

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Square underarm
These look easy – just straight lines, but actually need another skill to get a non lumpy result.
Add the skill of stopping the stitching at a specific point.

The key to avoiding underarm fabric scrunching on these armholes is not to stitch into the seam allowances. Then the seam allowances can move freely to where they need to be, rather than being held by the stitching in a place which pulls on the fabric around the stitching.

A square set sleeve looks simple as there are no curves. But to do it well needs the ability to stop sewing at a specific point, so you don’t stitch into the seam allowances where the seams join.

See diagrams below for sewing a flat set sleeve, as the method is similar.
Mark the underarm points on the sleeves where the seam stitching lines cross.
Stitch the armhole seam only between those points.
Then stitch the side and sleeve seams separately, also only up to that point.

Basic sewing machines usually can’t sew one stitch at a time under the control of the foot pedal. If so, stitch close to the end point. Then make the last few stitches to the stopping point by ‘walking’ the stitching – stitch manually by turning the hand wheel (turn the top of the wheel towards you).

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Cut-on sleeves
Add the skill of sewing strong sharply curved seams where the fabric lays flat when opened out to the right side.

Vogue 8605

No clear dividing line between these and the dolman/ batwing sleeve. But here the underarm seam is sharply curved, so needs special technique. Both front and back patterns are the same shape.
The problem is the stitching line is longer than the cut edge, which stays taut when the garment is turned out to the right side.
So much clipping is needed at the curved underarm to get the fabric to lay flat. Double stitch round the curve for extra strength, and the results are stronger if you can clip on the bias, not at right angles to the seam stitching. See the sections on inward curves in this post from Sew4Home.

But that does leave little bits of seam allowance which wave around and look awful after the garment is washed. You can get a better result if you have a serger/overlocker, as they can produce viable stitches without fabric. This can keep the seam-allowances held together.

Elizabeth Suzann Harper
Spread out the seam allowances while overlocking, so the edge has a curve in the opposite direction.

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Sleeve sewn ‘flat’ / ‘laid on’
Two special skills here :
– sewing 2 different curves together.
– avoiding lumpy distortion at the point where the 4 seams meet – see also above on square armholes.

Sleeves which can be sewn on ‘flat’ have a flatter wider sleeve cap and a deep (shoulder point to underarm) armhole. Usually in casual and shirt styles.

from Cutting Lines post, link below : armhole above, sleeve cap below
I added the arrows.
It’s the stitching lines that need to match, not the fabric edges. The stitching lines should be the same length, while the sleeve cap edge is longer and the armhole edge is shorter.

The point where armhole and side seam stitching lines cross is marked on this photo by blue dots.
To find the crossing points on your pattern, mark the stitching lines at these corners. When sewing, match the dots for the sleeve to the armhole dots.

Pinning sleeves to a garment, photo tutorial from Cutting Line Designs.

While stitching two different curves together, keep checking that the under layer of fabric is flat and undistorted, as well as the upper layer, so nothing that isn’t supposed to be is getting caught in the stitching. Though if it is, as nothing has been cut, you can just unpick and stitch again.

Avoid lumpy distortion at the underarm, two methods :

Here’s a photo tutorial from Blueprints for Sewing about sewing the seams.
Basically, in this method, you’re sewing the underarm in the same way as for an armhole sewn in the round.

Another solution is to avoid stitching across the seam allowances when stitching the ends of the seams at the underarm (see above on square underarm).
See the dark blue dots on the photo. They mark where the 4 seam stitching lines cross at the underarm (there are also dots marking the centre of the sleeve cap). The 4 seam ends which meet at the underarm are : both ends of the armhole seam, and the inner ends of the side and sleeve seams.
The stitching is done in 2 or 3 steps :
First step – stitch the armhole seam joining sleeve to body, between the dots, backstitching at ends.

The body side seam and sleeve underarm seam can be stitched in two ways :
One step – stitch seams in one continuous line, pivoting if necessary at the underarm.

Two steps – the best result is obtained by stitching side seam and sleeve seam separately, so all seams are sewn only as far as the dot. Make sure the seam allowances are not caught in any of the stitching, that there is no stitching in any of the seam allowances, so all the fabrics can move freely as needed.

Images from oop Simplicity 8856

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Fitted armhole, sleeve sewn ‘in the round’
Add the skill of sewing in the round.
And perhaps dealing with one stitching line longer and ‘eased’ to match the other.
Usually the most challenging method of attaching a sleeve. But patterns assembled this way can achieve the closest fit.

Around the underarm curves the cutting lines and stitching lines on both bodice and sleeve are usually the same length and curve.
Over the sleeve cap the fabric pieces have different curves, so the cutting lines and stitching lines are different lengths.
In some patterns the stitching lines on sleeve and bodice are the same length.
In other patterns the stitching line on the sleeve cap is longer than the stitching line of the armscye, there’s some ‘ease’ which needs extra handling.

‘Easy’ patterns (and cheap modern manufacturing) have front and back armholes the same shape, so the sleeve can be cut on a fold, as in this example.

pattern for knits from Easy Sewing the Kwik Sew Way book

But on most human bodies the front and back armholes are not the same shape, so using a complete sleeve pattern can give a better fitting result. Especially in woven fabrics.

Fitting :
With this sort of armhole, it can matter whether it fits well.
Sew Sew Live has an extensive tutorial (not free). You get two downloads :
– a .doc with links to two videos, one on fitting one on sewing (if you have a Mac the .doc will open in .pages).
– a .pdf with summary notes on fitting, and pattern pieces for practicising sewing in a sleeve.

If you look carefully at the time line of the 1hr.50min. fitting video, you can see it’s in sections. Hover your cursor over a section, and what it covers appears above the time line. Though I suggest watching the whole thing first, to get oriented to the issues.

I find it essential to pin carefully, even to baste the armhole stitching.

Sewing in the sleeve : Strong differences of opinion here. Some people like to sew in a sleeve with the sleeve cap down, next to the feed dogs. I like to sew with the sleeve up.
These videos, and the SewSewLive one above, all have the sleeve up :
A general video from Sure Fit Designs showing both fitting the sleeve into the armhole and stitching.
Another video with all the steps from Sew Over It patterns.
This video just shows the sewing, from Londa Rohlfling.
Notice although this armhole is sewn ‘in the round’, it is not around the machine free arm. The stitching is done from inside the ’round’.

Definitely a technique where it’s worth making some samples until you feel confident.

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Links available February 2021

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