Sureau Sew-along: Adding a Collar

example of pointy collar

Last week of the sew-along! In these last few posts, we're going to see a few ways to alter the Sureau, and we're starting with a collar!
I'm going to show you how to draft a pointy (or Chelsea) collar for your dress.

Start by tracing the seam allowance on both the shoulders and neckline of your bodice pieces.

Now pin or tape your pieces together at the shoulder, overlapping the seam allowances plus an extra cm at the armhole. This will make your collar lay better.

Now lay some tracing paper over your pattern pieces and trace the neckline, the seam allowance, the begininning of the center back and front. Mark where the shoulder seam is (you don't need a long line like I did, a little notch is more than enough).

With a ruler, mark some dots at 6 cm (or your preferred width) and join them with the help of a French curve.

Decide at what angle you want the point of your collar to be. I marked 3 cm from the center front and drew a straight line.

Trace the seam allowance all around your collar (although not at the center back) and cut.
And you're done!

To construct the collar:
Cut two collar pieces on the fold of the fabric and sew along the outer edge, with right sides together.
Remember that notching the curve and pressing the collar carefully once you've turned it will make a HUGE difference on your finished result.
When you pin the collar on the neckline, the two parts will have to overlap at the center front and meet at exactly 1,5cm from the edge.
Once the collar is stitched on, you will pin and the sew the facing over it and proceed as usual.

If you want to see how to draft a peter-pan half collar, here is Eléonore's post.