Frankie Shirt Sew Along Part Five: Shoulders and Collar

Welcome back to the Frankie Sew Along. In our last post we constructed the back of the garment and started attaching the back to the Front/Side. Today we will finish connecting the two pieces and attach the Collar. 

With right sides together, stitch Front/Side Back to Back at shoulder. 

Finish seam and press towards Back. To press, make sure seam allowance is towards the Back and going away from you, and place garment right side up on a tailor's ham. Press against the seam from front to back, not side to side.

​If you choose, you can now apply lightweight fusible interfacing to one-half or all of the Collar. Then, with wrong sides together, press the Collar in half lengthwise. Open out the Collar. Now with right sides together, folding lengthwise, use a chalk marker to draw a line from your dot to the folded edge of the collar. Follow your line as you stitch each end from fold to dot, backstitching at each end. Trim the seam.

To create a crisp corner, clip into the folded edge of the seam allowance. Place the seam on the pointed rail of a tailoring board and press open. 

Turn collar right side out. Place the collar once again on the pointed end of the tailoring board. The sharp point will help set your crisp corner. Press. Take it off the tailoring board and press flat. If needed, use a point turner to neaten the corner. 

On the main garment, clip about every 1/2ʺ along the neckline. It is very important to clip all the way to the staystitching. Staystitching not only prevents the curved neckline from stretching out of shape, but also provides a barrier to clip to so that the neckline opens up and fits the exact length of the Collar at the seamline. So don't be shy about clipping. Too many clips is better than too few. 

Place the collar and garment right sides together. If you have interfacing one-half of the collar, the interfaced side goes next to the right side of the garment. Matching dots to shoulder seams and notches, pin the collar to the neckline. The Collar should extend just slightly beyond the neck edge at the seamline. The amount of extension depends on the thickness of your fabric. The heavier the fabric, the more the extension. Baste this end and make a test turn, making sure that the transition between the front hem edge and the collar is as even as possible with no puckering or space. Stitch on the the wrong side of the neckline, using the staystitching line as a guide. 

Fold the remaining seam allowance under just enough to cover the seam stitching. Place the neckline over a seam roll allowing the Collar to fall over the seam roll allowing the uppercollar to become slightly wider than the undercollar. This builds in a natural roll to the collar and looks better when wearing. If you are planning to wear the Collar standing up, then don't use a seam roll. I also like to press with steam as I pin, to flatten and even out the fold. 

Slipstitch the Collar in place. 

Join us for the next chapter of the Frankie Sew Along as we construct the sleeves. If you have any questions about the project, email betsy@sewingworkshop, or post your question on our Facebook Group. And don't miss the other posts in the Sew Along.

Frankie Sew Along Part One: Measuring and Adjustments

Frankie Sew Along Part Two: Cutting and Marking

Frankie Sew Along Part Three: Sewing the Front

Frankie Sew Along Part Four: Sewing the Back