(Collar) Stand By Me

 Just look at that collar, would you? If you've ever drafted and sewn a collar, then you know how difficult they are to get the hang of. This here shirt pictured above is my final project for patternmaking class. It's a button-up sorta-Western-style shirt, for which I chose a lightweight summery plaid. It should pretty much fit me (it was drafted to fit my mannequin at school, which is a size 10, but a 1960s size 10, which is basically a size 4, I think), so I can wear it this spring.

Now, the last shirt that I made that was similar to this style, I had to make three collars until I got one that fit properly. It was good practice in sewing a collar with collar stand (that's the thing that is between the neckline and the collar), but pretty disheartening. The first flub-up was a measuring issue. The 2nd oopsie, I just don't know....Anyway, here's my kid wearing one of the extra collars, Chippendale's style:

 

So you can imagine how thrilled I am to only make one collar and stand this time around. In case it's not clear: really freaking thrilled. I have until Wednesday to finish this up. I'm still beset by allergy misery though the rain today is helping. Here's the technical drawing of the assignment to give you an idea of what it will look like. This was what the teacher gave me. No instructions. It's all on me:

You can see there are no actual pockets in the design, but I think I will add them later. I just can't stomach the idea of pocket flaps with no pockets. It's like wearing suspenders attached to your shirt (which I have done, by the way. In grade 4. It was from Mariposa (a beloved preteen fashion store) and I had to beg for it). 

Oh, and if you need to sew a collar with a stand, here's a good tutorial: http://www.burdastyle.com/techniques/sewing-a-shirt-collar-with-collar-stand
And another good one:
http://sewmamasew.com/blog2/2010/06/how-to-make-a-collar-with-a-collar-stand/
And here's a post about drafting AND sewing a collar with a stand:
http://malepatternboldness.blogspot.com/2011/02/mens-shirt-sew-along-12-new-collar-for.html