velosews

Jungle Pattern magic collar

Here’s what how I drafted my collar and my construction notes. Pattern Magic provides great drafting instructions. It’s the construction that you have to work out for yourself but sometimes these are provided for you as well.

This collar is in Pattern Magic so if you can get your hands on a copy, please follow their instructions for a much better product than I made.

The skirt above was made from leftover fabric from my Minerva summer wardrobe collection. I now have a skirt, trousers and jacket made from this purple fabric. The skirt is lined and fully interfaced for a smoother finish.

Original collar
Use an existing one-piece collar for a pattern you know works. That way you’re a couple of steps ahead. You won’t have to draft a collar from your bodice block. I’ve used Butterick 5538 but you can use any pattern.

This piece is cut on the fold.

Wider base collar
With this one-piece collar, make the outer point wider for the base collar. The base collar is wider that the top collar. This is why it looks interesting. 

This piece is cut on the fold.

Internal collar piece
This is slightly tricky because this piece is cut on the bias on a fold. This is drafted by placing the wider and skinnier pieces together. Then you cut and spread them open evenly .

And it’s drafted from a bit of cutting and spreading of the top and base collar pieces.

I cut this final piece on the fold on the bias. There’s a bit of fullness at the back but this holds up the top collar when you apply interfacing.


Construction or What worked for me
Before you start, mark the fold point on the internal collar and any notches from your original collar pattern piece.

  • Sew the top collar on the internal collar piece. 
  • Sew the base collar on the internal collar piece.
  • Sew the corner points. If the top collar is too wide, it won’t sit high.
  • Match the top and base collar pieces and sew these edges to the neckline.

  • Finish the collar/neckline as per your pattern instruction.

Now I used a soft bias binding to finish the back neckline.

The top collar will stand up with more layers of interfacing if your fabric is soft. 
You’ll see how this spotted blouse worked out at the end of the week because it’s one of my Minerva Crafts January projects showcasing my Summer work wardrobe nicely.

This zebra fabric was bought locally at Myhung and it uses the large print on the body and smaller print on the sleeves and facing.

Because I made so many jungle pieces last January I had to stop my Jungle fabrics from breeding, but few pieces like this one migrated into my fabric stash.
Get your Jungle January fix as time’s running out. January is flying by so quick. 
I think this jungle shirt could be office-worthy.
I did try to place the downward zebra stripes to the middle of each shirt panel.
As you can see, last week I started drafting a few more Pattern Magic pieces. So in a way, I’m no longer in holiday mode and back in my sewing room.
See you soon:)

20 comments

  6. I am so glad you are using the Pattern Magic books. I had book 1 and 2 for Christmas and, despite having the English translation, I cannot make head or tail of them! I am hoping you may be able to shed some light!!

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  8. Great animal print blouse! I have Pattern Magic 1 and 2, (got them for a steal at a used book store) but have never used them yet. So excited to know that this pattern is in there! I should probably flip through them and see what else they have to offer, shouldn't I?

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  14. I think your lovely zebra print blouse is very office worthy. And how fun that you were able to incorporate the unique Pattern Magic collar into your blouse

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  15. Absolutely gorgeous outfit. You look perfect. Thanks so much for the collar instructions.
    Happy Jungle January '14!!
    Shelley

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