my 4 favorite shirtmaking tools

I'm thrilled that so many of you have found my tutorial on sewing a shirt collar to be helpful. Thrilled enough to keep talking about sewing shirts. O'boy! I'm continuing to feverishly sew button-downs for my main dude, so I'm slowly learning (er, improvising) all the little tricks to getting better results each time. It's satisfying to watch my skills improve and to figure out my go-to methods that lead to consistent outcomes. Translation: I'm addicted. I also may have accidentally drafted a multi-size men's shirt pattern. Moving on!

Since I'm just a home sewer with run-of-the-mill equipment you can find relatively easily, I thought I'd share with you the extra "tools" I use regularly when sewing shirts to help get the details right. Some of them are hardly tools -- just stuff. This list includes items that I use in addition to normal sewing equipment/notions such as a machine, ruler, seam ripper, etc. So none of these are absolutely essential for sewing a nice-looking shirt. They just make it all a bit easier.

TOOL #1. GLUE STICK

I've always used a glue stick to help attach centered zippers on skirts, ever since I saw this tutorial on Sew Mama Sew a million years ago. Now I use one throughout the shirtmaking process, too, particularly when I need to secure something on the inside while sewing from the right side. To me, glue makes it easier to control the fabric and get it perfectly positioned, and can be faster than basting and more secure than pinning, especially on slippery fabrics that will immediately shift as you remove the pins during sewing. And the stakes aren't that high -- you can easily reposition something before the glue dries... or even after.

Here I use fabric glue from JoAnn's that claims it is water-soluble and won't "gunk up" your machine needle, but I've also used the regular ole office supply stuff in the past. Here's when I use a glue stick:

- To secure button plackets so they're less likely to ripple or drag when you're topstitching them down...

- To secure a pocket before sewing it on...

- To position the inner collar stand's lower seam allowance before edgestitching it in place from the right side...

- And to help make sleeve plackets by properly positioning all the folded parts (by the way, I use Pam's two-piece shirt sleeve placket tutorial which I highly recommend. She also uses glue at one point!)...

TOOL #2. EDGESTITCHING FOOT (edge stitching foot, edge-stitching foot, edge stitch foot, whatever) 

Ever since getting an edgestitching foot (also known as a stitch-in-the-ditch foot or edge-joining foot), my shirtmaking confidence has skyrocketed. It has a centered guide that enables you to sew precisely at 1/16" or 1/8" from a seam or the edge of your garment, or directly within a seam if you need to. Of course it's not impossible to sew close to the edge without one, but I can't tell you how many times I used to seam-rip and redo my edgestitching, especially on the back yoke when there's a long horizontal line where any wave in your stitches is very obvious. I just couldn't stand the thought of people sitting behind me on the subway and staring at my crookedly-stitched yoke. NIGHTMARES.

It sounds fussy but I don't mind investing money in sewing tools that produce satisfactory results almost every time without having to put in much more time or effort to learn how to use it, and this is one of those things. I bought this generic snap-on foot from Amazon that works with most low-shank machines. It was about $10. 

I use it on pockets...

The yoke...

Collar stand...

And sleeve placket...

TOOL #3. SCRAP FABRIC

You've probably heard this before, but one way to get even stitches when topstitching or edgestitching is to ensure your presser foot remains level. Have you ever tried to sew over a bulky seam or continue stitching after a pivot point, but the presser foot just won't move and your bobbin thread gets all tangled? It's likely because your poor foot is stuck trying to move uphill:

If you shove some scrap fabric under the foot behind the piece you're sewing, the presser foot will no longer be tilted up at an angle and it will sew forward much more smoothly. This was a game changer for me when top-stitching collars points and collar stands. No more tiny little struggle stitches on full display around your face!

TOOL #4. SLEEVE BOARD

This is probably one that's only worth it if you sew a lot of long-sleeved shirts (or other kinds of narrow tubes, I guess). Before now, I always just serged all my shirt seams, but now I've been forcing myself to make French seams or flat-felled seams because they're more attractive when the sleeves are rolled up, which for Corey and me is always. Pressing all the way down the sleeve seam is essential for this kind of finish, so it's just easier to have a sleeve board for this process so you can flatten out and fold the seams most efficiently. 

If you're desperate, though, you can just stick a narrow rolled up towel down your sleeves, too, though it will be a bit squishy and may not get your seams as flat.

And that's it! I tried thinking of five tools but these are really the only ones I use regularly. I own some other stuff like an expanding buttonhole placement ruler gauge thingy, but I find it sufficient to measure buttonhole placement with a normal straight ruler.

What are your favorite shirtmaking tools? Any that I haven't thought of? Chime in, buttercups.

sewing a collar: a different order

So I've kind of become obsessed with mastering the techniques of sewing a button-up collared shirt (or shirt dress!) lately. I've made several of them in the past but it's never a perfectly smooth ride. The hardest part of making a shirt, for me anyway, is sewing the stupid collar stand. Everything about it -- attaching it to the shirt, attaching it to the collar, edge-stitching around the curves, and sewing a buttonhole on it. I dread it all every time, but I'm determined to keep practicing and trying to find ways to make it go more smoothly.

I've discovered a technique in attaching the collar/stand that works considerably better for me than the other methods I've tried. It's not necessarily a technique -- it's more just a change in the order of construction. I don't think this is new or revolutionary -- in fact, Peter of Male Pattern Boldness used a similar method in his Colette Negroni sew-along when he was making the version of the shirt with the traditional collar stand (see here). But, his is the only tutorial I've seen so far that demonstrates this order of construction, and he does a mirror image construction to what I prefer. It's a hard method to search online because there's no name or distinguishing feature for it. So, I'm just going to throw it out to the Internet again and see if anyone catches.

Most patterns have you construct the collar then sandwich it between the collar stand pieces and stitch everything together. Then you have to attach this whole already-sewn thing to the shirt neckline. This is what I've always seen in commercial patterns and other tutorials:

This has always resulted in a fiddly mess for me because it's harder to get the collar stand edge to perfectly align with the front plackets. The method I prefer is to attach the outer collar stand to the shirt by itself, then attach the collar to that, and then sew on the inner collar stand. Here's how to do all that:

1. Sew the body of your shirt as usual or as instructed in the particular pattern you're using. Make sure you've turned/attached your front plackets and done any shoulder-seam topstitching before attaching the collar. Stay-stitch the neckline of your shirt so it doesn't stretch out beforehand.

2. Fuse (or sew) interfacing to the upper collar and the outer collar stand piece. To reduce bulk in the finished garment, cut away the seam allowance in the interfacing before fusing it. I didn't reduce mine all the way around, though you definitely could (should?).

3. To make a neat collar, it helps to start with properly sized collar and collar stand pieces. If you're using a pattern that has the same pattern piece for both the upper collar and the under collar, you're going to want to trim down the edges of your undercollar by 1/8" all the way around. I also do this on the inner collar stand. When pinning and sewing later, you will align the raw edges up as usual, and the smaller piece will stretch a bit to fit. Why do this? By reducing the size of the inner & under pieces, the seams will roll more naturally to the underside, and you won't get puckers when sewing the inner collar stand.

(Please don't use a rotary cutter directly on your table. I removed my cutting mat for the photo so you could see the cut edges more clearly).

4. With right sides together, pin the bottom edge of the interfaced collar stand piece to the shirt neckline, matching centers and any notches. It helps to clip some parts of the shirt neckline so it conforms to the curve of the stand. 

The ends of the collar stand will protrude from the front edges of the shirt by the given seam allowance. 

Stitch this seam. Trim the seam allowance and press up. I always leave a more considerable seam allowance at the ends. It may be bulkier but it's easier to handle in subsequent steps.

5. Sew the sides and bottom edges of the upper collar piece to the under collar piece, right sides together. Leave the top edge unstitched. 

Trim the seam allowances if necessary, turn right side out, and work your magic to get sharp collar points. (I always try using this tip from this tutorial, though it's not always 100% successful.) Press the collar, rolling the seam slightly under so it's not visible. Top-stitch 1/4" from the edge if desired. You can baste the top collar edge now, though I typically don't.

6. Pin and baste, or just pin, the whole collar piece to the interfaced collar stand, which has already been attached to the shirt. Make sure that the interfaced side of the collar (upper collar) is facing up. The uninterfaced side of the collar (under collar) will be facing the interfaced (outer) collar stand. Got it?

7. NOW is when you attach the uninterfaced collar stand piece (inner collar stand) to the whole shebang, right sides together, matching centers and edges. The collar will be sandwiched in between the two pieces. Before pinning, fold up the seam allowance of the uninterfaced collar stand on the bottom edge so that it mirrors its interfaced counterpart. You can press up that whole edge at this point, too, but I prefer to do it later.

8. Stitch this seam, making sure the stitches butt up (hehe) directly in line with the front placket edge. Backstitch securely.

Trim this seam allowance and clip the curve, but make sure to leave yourself some wiggle room with the S.A. at the edge. Turn right side out and press. See how well the edges line up? This is where it helps to have more of a seam allowance inside because it's easier to push it in and out of the way from the bottom edge. I've found that a tiny, fraying S.A. is more stubborn.

9. Press under the lower seam allowance on the inner collar stand so the edge just covers the seam line. 

10. You can slip-stitch this in place (more common in women's wear), or pin from the right side and edgestitch all the way around. For the record, edgestitching is just topstitching at 1/8" or 1/16" from the edge.

I've still never achieved perfect edgestitching, but it does help to use my blind hem foot for this process. It has a sliding guide that I can line up with the edge of the seam. I've ordered a stitch-in-the-ditch foot that has a shorter, metal guide that I hope will offer more stability than this lopsided plastic thing. It hasn't arrived in the mail yet but I'll keep you posted on how well it works! 

11. The collar's done! Now finish the rest of your shirt/dress and post that beauty on your blog or whatever.

[ Shirtdress pattern is McCalls' 6696 from spring 2013. Fabric is vintage cotton from Etsy. The sleeves are just rolled up here because they're not hemmed yet. ]

As you may have determined, this collar-sewing method is not drastically different from what you've probably seen before. HOWEVER, doing it in this order gives you more control of where the collar stand lines up with the front plackets, and lowers the risk of getting wonky edges and seam allowances that refuse to stay tucked in place under the inner collar stand.

I hope this makes sense. How do you sew perfect collars? Let me know if you've tried this method, tried something better, or have any questions! 

a quicker way to change serger thread

Ruh roh. It's time for one of my most inexplicably dreaded parts of beginning a sewing project (well, besides tracing, cutting and marking): changing the serger thread color. Confession --- I usually avoid this step as much as possible, so I actually have made quite a few white garments with black serged insides, or red with white insides, black with navy. Yep, for someone who owns a seam finishing machine, I probably have some of the junkiest and funkiest seam finishes out there.

But apparently there's a fast(er) and easy(er) way to change your thread color. WHO'S BEEN HIDING SECRETS FROM ME? I can't keep this knowledge to myself now that I have it, so I'll show you how I switched from blue to white thread on my Brother 1034D without actually unthreading the blue thread. Yes, this is real.

First, snip the thread above the machine on all four spools.

Replace your old thread with the new cones, and bring the new color through the thread guide.

Tie the old color to the new color. I made a simple square knot and clipped the excess. 

IMPORTANT: Pulling this knot through your tension discs is NOT a good idea. What I did is lower my tension down to zero then gently pull the thread up out of the discs. Pull the string of thread forward so the knot is now beyond the tension discs, then thread the new color back into the discs. Do this for all four.

Now, lift your presser foot and make sure your needle is in the highest position. Grab a hold of your threads and start pulling gently. I pulled my looper threads separately from the needle threads, but I don't think it matters.

This will string the knots through the whole machine so eventually the new thread color replaces the old. Incredible, yea?

For the left & right needle threads, don't pull the knots through the needle eyes. Snip the threads and re-thread both needles with the new color. This is the only time you may need your serger tweezers and a keen eyeball.

Hey cool, it's now fully threaded. Make sure to readjust your tension discs to the appropriate tension for your fabric, and now you can take off and serge to your heart's desire. Wee!

Now, how much faster is this REALLY? For the sake of education, I decided to time it. Since I'm not a beginner threader, I can actually thread my serger the "real" way without too much struggle. But what can I say, I still don't like doing it!

Here's the ole fashioned way, switching from white to blue:

Ha, it's kind of pathetic that I used to refuse to re-thread my serger because it seemed sooo tedious, but it actually takes less than three minutes. I should time things more often to put it all in better perspective.

And now, here's the fancy new way, switching from blue back to white:

I'll be honest, though. I pulled the knots through the needle eyes! Ohhhhh noooo cheater. No harm was done to my needles, though. The majority of my time in the conventional way was threading the loopers, no surprise. The majority of my time in the new way was knotting the two thread colors together. So, it's up to you how you prefer to spend your time, and if those 50ish seconds of your life are worth saving.

What do you think? Give it a try? Is rethreading your serger something you dread doing, too?