Add a Pretty Collar to Your T-Shirt: An Easy Upcycle Project

You can add a flat collar to your T-shirt to elevate its style, giving it a unique look. From a casual look you can change it to have a touch of formality with this addition. Here is how to sew it easily.

collar added to plain tshirt to upcycle it

What do you need to sew the collar

♦ A T-shirt
♦ Fabric for the flat collar (Any light weight fabric; I would choose a contrasting colored fabric to give it an arresting look; a touch of bling can be added to the ordinary t shirt with a sequin fabric collar or a light weight beaded fabric collar; Do not choose a heavy weight material as it will sag the t-shirt neckline)
♦ Very thin interfacing material
♦ Sewing machine (though hand-sewing is an option, it will be slightly more time-consuming)
♦ Thread matching the collar fabric
♦ All other usual sewing tools like Scissors, Pins, ruler, marker, fabric clipper

Step 1. Make pattern for the collar

(This is a collar that is only on the front neckline. If you want a collar that extends to the full neckline, this is not the pattern for you.)

Mark a rectangle of size 8 1/2 inches by 4 1/4 inches on a paper. Mark the following dimensions for the collar.

This collar is perfect for a US size 8 or UK size 12 t shirt. You may need a slightly longer (at the inner curve) collar for bigger t-shirts. But this pattern can serve as a starting point.

You can measure the front neckline of your T-shirt to determine the length of the collar to make it suit yours. Divide by 2. Then minus this by 1/2 inch and then add 1 inch (2.5 cm) to this measurement for seam allowance.The inner curve should be this measure.

Use a french curve to curve the outer and inner lines of the collar in a smooth line, keeping the proportions intact.

Step 2. Cut the collar pieces

Remember that you need 2 outer collar pieces and 2 inner collar pieces, so 2 of them should be mirrors. When you fabric has distinct outer and inner sides this thing matters – you have to be careful as you cut. You can fold your fabric by the middle and Mark the patterns twice and cut to get the 4 pieces you need to sew this collar.

Cut out 2 pieces of interfacing for the collar pieces, in the same shape.

Cut the interfacing smaller by cutting out the seam allowances (this is optional but highly recommended). Use iron to adhere the interfacing to the 2 outer collar pieces.

Step 3. Sew the collar

Keep one outer collar piece and one inner collar piece together, right sides to the inside.

Sew them together at the sides and the outer edge. (Do not sew the inner edge)- Red lines in the picture above.

Clip the seam allowances. Turn the collar right side out. Press the collar neatly, making sure that the points are neatly pointed out.

Make another collar piece the same way.

Step 4. Attach the collar

Bring the t-shirt inside out.

Pin the open end of the collar to the neckline of the T-shirt, right sides together. Pin both collars to ensure that the collar is distributed evenly on the neckline with the a symmetrical distance in the middle.

Sew the collar on the neckline starting from the shoulder seam ( or place the collar on the t-shirt and see which is a better placement) – use a 1/4 inch seam allowance to sew this.

Do this for both the collar

Bring the t-shirt rightside out. Straighten the neckline. Iron the collar and the T-shirt neckline to ensure everything lays flat.

Caution : T-shirts are great for many upcycling projects but these t-shirt refashions requires careful handling due to the delicate nature of typical T-shirt fabrics.

Tack stitch the collar to the neckline, if you find that the collar is sagging out. This is an issue when adding a collar – which is why a lightweight fabric is recommended as the collar fabric. Ordinary t-shirts made of thin jersey fabrics are very delicate – very easy to get holes, so do not think of sewing and unpicking the stitches as you normally do with other fabrics; and the neckbinding is very flexible and weak. Other than sagging, it stretches like crazy on its own, or by the touch of your fingers. In worst cases, you can add a twill binding to the back to stabilize the neckline.

This is a good way to refashion an old tshirt to a new look or customise a new one to have an academia vibe – don’t you think? You can find some more ways to refashion old t-shirts. A black t shirt design can be changed in yet more ways.

black t-shirt - change looks — Bleach printing done on plain black t-shirt

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