Sewing a Lace or Eyelet Collar

I've been super into lacy peter pan collars lately. In fact, I'm making two dresses that have them! (Both are variations on Simplicity 1609.) Both collars were cut from yardage, either lace or eyelet. Originally, I cut both the upper collar and the under collar out of the lace/eyelet. But two layers of the lace on top of each other didn't work--it obscured the lace pattern and made the whole thing look heavy.


I had already been thinking I might need a sheer fabric for interfacing the top collar. So a solution popped into my mind: an organdy undercollar! This way the undercollar would provide support and transparency.

I bought 1/2 yard of very sheer cotton organdy to cut the under collars out of. I looked for something relatively stiff, that could stand in for the role of interfacing. Silk organza would work well too. I just sewed the collar as usual (see my tutorial here) and trimmed the seam allowances down to a scant 1/8". When pressing, I made sure that the organdy was rolled to the underside of the collar.

Here you can see the technique in lace, in progress.

I love how you can still see the lace motifs so clearly.

Anyway! Just a little tidbit to keep in mind any time you need sheer support in a garment.

Peter Pan collars FOREVER!!!!