Turn a Shirt Facing into a Faux Collar

Today I am sharing with you my sewVery simple tutorial for turning a shirt facing into a faux collar.

Last month, I participated in the Fall pattern tour for Blank Slate Patterns.  Some of you may remember the Schoolday Skirt and Beachy Boatneck Shirt I made (affiliate links).  Read all about it HERE.  Well, as you can see, I changed things up a bit on the Beachy Boatneck Shirt to make it more girly and feminine.  I modified the facing pattern pieces and then sewed them on in reverse so that they are on the outside of the shirt instead of the inside.  Here's how I did it.

Print out the Beachy Boatneck front and back facing pattern pieces.  Then do the following to each facing piece:

1. Measure the length of the shoulder seam on the facing piece for the size you are making.  I sewed a size 6 which measured 2 5/16".

2. Measure this same distance along the Fold line of the pattern piece and make a mark.

3. Then measure this distance perpendicular from the neck line for the size you are sewing and mark.  Do this every inch or so.

4. Connect the marks you made in step 3 to form a smooth curve.

5. Cut out the modified facing pattern pieces and your fabric.

Next,

 To make the center tab,

You've just created a Faux Collar by sewing the shirt facings to the outside of the shirt, and all raw seams are still encased!

The fun thing about this is that you can modify the facing pieces into different shapes to create some pretty amazing and unique looks.  You could use my tutorial to come up with your own version for the Flip this Pattern sew along over at Frances & Suzanne in March (I'll be judging that month, btw).  In the mean time, I might just test out a few of my ideas myself!

Thanks for stopping by today!  Hope you've been inspired, and have fun sewing!