This week we are talking about installing the collar for our Kalle Shirt & Shirtdress. I am going to show you two methods for doing so, but in the meantime I thought it would be fun to take a little detour to discuss how to sew sharp collar points.
If you've made a few shirts, you've probably struggled with getting nice, sharp collar points. I wanted to experiment to see what got the best results, so I tried three different methods. The first one is commonly called for in shirt pattern instructions; as you approach the corner, you use a short stitch length to square it off with 1-2 shirt stitches. The second method is the one most commonly employed by professional shirt-makers, at least according to David Coffin in his Shirtmaking book. In the last method, you sew the corner stitch over a piece of thread and then use that thread tail to pull the corner clean out.
Here is a quick look at my results.
The fold-over and thread tail method are the clear winners here. I believe I got the sharpest results with the thread tail method, but I am going to show you both techniques and you can choose the one that works best for you. Since I have never gotten great results using the square off method, I won't be explaining that one any further.
The Fold-Over + Turn Method
If you are sewing shirt collars this way, simply sew your seam allowance normally, pivoting at the corner. Trim the entire seam down to 1/4".
It isn't necessary to trim too closely around the seams, but you do not want to remove a bit of thickness. I graded the interfaced seam down in the below example; if I wanted to remove bulk even more, I would cut my interfacing to the size of the finished collar and not apply any along the seam allowance at all.
Next, fold over the edge of the corner right at the point and try to crease the edge with your finger.
Next, fold over the seam along the stitch line and crease it in place.
Repeat for the other side.
Now you'll need a pointy pair of tweezers. I find the ones that come with most sergers work well - it's important they have a long, pointed edge so you can get right into the corner. Push the tweezers into the corner and try and grab this little folded over area of fabric as you hold it steady with your fingers. The tweezers should be grabbing the right side of the collar on the other side.
Hold the tweezers tightly and then flip the corner to the inside. The collar should naturally align along the crisp folds of fabric you made into a nice point.
If you're having trouble getting the point entirely out, David Coffin recommends using a large needle to nudge the point out - just be careful you don't use too much force or you may nick a thread.
I find the tweezer method gives pretty good results, but it's a little fiddly. I am super happy to have discovered the following technique. It gives super sharp corners and is pretty easy to sew, one of those sewing moves that feels like magic.
Getting Perfect Collar Points Using a Thread Tail
This method is done at the sewing machine, but I like to mark my stitch line before I get there so I know exactly where to pivot my stitching.
At your sewing machine, sew the seam allowance normally, but switch to a short stitch length before you get to the first corner (around 2mm). Right before you make the stitch that you will pivot from to turn the corner, cut a length of thread. Leave your needle down and raise your presser foot. Bring the piece of thread in between the two collar pieces on either side of the needle until it is touching the needle itself. Use your left hand to keep this piece of thread taut.
Put your presser foot down and sew one stitch, leaving your needle down. You have just sewn over your thread tail. Now, pull the thread on the right side over to the left, around the base of the needle. You should now be holding both threads in your left hand.
Leave the needle down, and turn the collar so you are ready to sew the next side. Pull the thread tail as far to the left as you can so it is out of the way when you begin stitching. Now sew one stitch. You have now "trapped" the thread tail in between the two stitches that meet at the corner.
Continue sewing, and repeat the same steps as above for the other corner.
Once your collar is stitched, grade your seams and trim close corner without cutting your stitch line.
Now here's the fun part! Gently pull on your thread tail and turn the collar right side out. Don't pull too hard, or you risk popping a stitch or pulling the corner too far out.
You'll find you've created a remarkably sharp collar point! Press into shape and you're good to go.
Hopefully, you'll get great results sewing your next collar with one of these methods. What is your favourite way to sew collars?
See all posts in our Kalle Sewalong series. Get the pattern here.
My favorite collar point turning method is a variation on the thread turning method. I add some reinforcing stitches over the pulling thread to eliminate the possibility of broken stitches on the seam when the thread is pulled. I describe this method at the end of this blog post: https://growyourownclothes.com/2017/02/11/the-white-shirt-finally-and-how-to-make-perfect-collar-points/
Thank you for not recommending the “take one or two stitches diagonally at the corner” method. I only have a couple of sewing pet peeves, but that is one of them. The idea that taking diagonal stitches over the corner gives you a
sharper point is simply not true, and for some reason this advice is
frequently passed around, but hardly anyone actually tests it to see
that it doesn’t work. Taking a single diagonal stitch at the corner and then trimming off the collar point seam allowance is the absolute worst thing you can do – you’ll likely get a hole at the collar point. Taking two diagonal stitches at the corner will probably prevent a hole, but you’ll get a squared-off corner, not a sharp point. This is fine if you WANT a squared-off corner, but it really irritates me that people claim it will give you a sharper point. It doesn’t.
On my Kalle, I tried the thread tail method for the first time. I really liked the results on one side…I didn’t catch the thread on the other side, wah wah…but I still managed a pretty good point. I will definitely be using this technique again!
I wish I had known how well it worked BEFORE I sewed all our samples!
hi, sorry I have never sewn a collar before but silly question as the bottom collar is smaller than the top how do I put the right sides together. am I placing the smaller collar central to the larger collar. Not sure I a explaining myself very well!
thank you!
Hi Namita. Since the under collar is cut on the bias, it has some stretch to it and you shouldn’t have a problem getting all the outside edges to line up.
great thank you. I have managed to sort it out!
Magic indeed! Can’t wait to start a project that needs a nice, sharp collar. Thanks!
This is brilliant! I used to always do the “single tiny stitch across the pivot point” method which works quite well, but this is much better. Thank you!
Huh, I thought I followed the thread tail method but my tails ended up on the outside of the RS together piece, not on the inside so no way to pull them out. Looking back I still can’t figure out what I did wrong!