A lot of people have asked me whether it’s possible to draft a different collar on the Banksia top – of course!! And it’s so easy to change the existing collar pattern to something a little different. You can even leave the collar off completely if you want.
Should we get started?
There are really endless things you can do when adjusting a collar, but I’ve decided to show you two of my favourites.
POINTED FLAT COLLAR
I’m calling this a pointed flat collar, as I think that’s the name that will be most familiar to people – but to be honest, I think this is probably closer to a Chelsea collar.
Anyway, I really love this one – and if you’re one of those people who find peter pan collars a bit too “pretty pretty” – then this might be the one for you!
I think it’s easiest (and most accurate) to draft collars in the half, so the first thing I like to do is cut the collar in half.
Draw a straight line down the front of the collar as above. How steep you decide to make this line is up to you, but make sure you start from the very outside edge of the centre front as shown – that way you won’t need to alter the neckline at all, and won’t mess with the seam allowance.
Now we need to blend the point into the curve of the collar – you could just draw a straight line but I think that looks too harsh and doesn’t sit as nicely. I prefer to draw a slight curve (it still looks pretty straight).
Cut it out and you’re done!
FAUX SHAWL COLLAR
I’m calling this one a faux shawl collar because it gives the appearance of a shawl collar without actually being one. That was worded strangely but I think you know what I mean hehe. It should look quite similar to this one.
Once again we’re going to draft in the half. So cut the pattern in half down the centre.
Starting at the centre front again, I used a curve ruler to blend into the original collar.
Cut out and you’re ready to go!
OTHER IDEAS
- I love the idea of adding piping or trim to the outer edge of the collar like this top.
- I think it would be really cute to layer two collars. I adore this top – and I think if you cut a pointed collar as above, and then draft a smaller one and layered it on top it would look amazing!
- Obviously, I love scalloped edge collars – and we have a tutorial for one right here!
LOOKING FOR MORE BANKSIA POSTS?
- Preparation
- Sewing: Darts & Seams
- Sewing: Basting & Placket prep
- Sewing: Collars
- Sewing: Collarless version
- Sewing: How to sew a placket
- Sewing: How to sew a placket the easier way
- Sewing: How to sew a faux placket
- Sewing: Leaving the placket off
- Sewing: Flat sleeve insertion
- Sewing: Sleeveless version
- Sewing: Long-sleeved version
- Sewing: Hemming
- Sewing: Dress version
- Sewing: Jersey version
Some other tutorials you might like to check out:
- Pattern Alterations: How to turn the pattern into a dress
- Pattern Alterations: Altering bust dart height
- Pattern Alterations: Bust adjustments (FBA and SBA)
- Pattern Alterations: Lengthen the sleeves
- Pattern Alterations: Drafting different collars (this post!)
- Pattern Alterations: Alter the pattern for stretch fabrics
DON’T HAVE THE PATTERN YET?
