Patternmaking + Design: Collars & Closures

Class Preview

Take your patternmaking skills all the way to the top. Learn to draft nine collar variations, finishing details and two types of button plackets.

Introduction & Drafting Button Plackets

Meet your instructor, designer and author Suzy Furrer, learn more about the collars and techniques covered in your class, then dive right into designing traditional and hidden button plackets on your bodice sloper. Your placket measurements will later be incorporated into many of your collar designs.

Camp Collar & Peter Pan Collar

The camp collar (or Hawaiian collar) is one of the easiest collars to design and sew. Suzy walks you through the drafting process, then shows you how to draft a flat-falling Peter Pan collar. Suzy also discusses tips for interfacing collars.

Band Collar & Collar With Band

Suzy shows how to draft a band collar (also known as a Mandarin or Nehru collar) in two pieces, with shaping around the neck. Then build on your skills as you draft a collar with band. Learn where you should add interfacing and how to adjust for turn of cloth on your collar.

Shawl & Partial Roll Collars

Learn how to draft a faced V-neck on your bodice sloper, to which you can attach a shawl collar or partial roll collar. Suzy shows you how to draft both, including how make insertions on your collar drafts to make sure they are wide enough to cover the back seam.

Napoleon Collar

The heavier Napoleon collar is perfect for jackets and trench coats. Suzy walks you through the drafting of the lapels and oversized collar and discusses design variations you can play with.

Notched Collar

Suzy demonstrates how to draft the tricky notched collar. Like the Napoleon collar, it is most suitable for jackets and coats. If you follow along with your own bodice sloper, you’ll see how to turn some simple calculations into complete pattern pieces.

Roll Collar

Draft a full roll collar on a V-neck bodice. This collar looks like a shawl collar but is constructed more like a lapel, with a facing that rolls back. Suzy takes you through the drafting step by step and shares tips on how to choose your grain line so the front of your garment hangs smoothly. Finally, learn about all the components of a production pattern you’ll want to add to your own work if you are planning to design commercially.