How to make a lace collar T-shirt
Total time: About one hour
Supplies: One slightly stretchy, fitted T-shirt, one-half yard of lace fabric in the color of your choice, matching thread, narrow cutting board about the size of the T-shirt, sewing machine with zigzag option so you don’t need a hem.
Note: Wash and dry the T-shirt and lace before sewing; iron if necessary.
1. Place the cutting board inside the T-shirt, smoothing the shirt so that the shoulder seams fit snugly against the top of the board and the front and back of the T-shirt are aligned. Trace the seam along the neckline with chalk. Then, using a ruler or tape measure, measure 3 inches down from the seam and mark a second collar line.
2. Fold the lace in half so that the design lines up the way you want and the grain matches that of the T-shirt.
3. Pin the lace over both the front and back of the T-shirt, matching up the fold of the lace to the shoulder seams, and pinning the lace to the T-shirt around the chalk lines.
4. Using the zigzag option on your sewing machine, sew the top chalk line around the T-shirt’s collar. Stretch the fabric a little while you sew to make sure there is some give in the new seam.
5. Sew another seam along the lower chalk line, again stretching the fabric just a little as you sew and making sure that both fabrics are smooth and do not bunch or wrinkle.
6. Very carefully trim the lace, creating an edge about one-eighth inch from the seams, so that the lace forms a collar around the T-shirt.
7. Optional: To make a cut-out lace collar, turn the shirt inside out and carefully cut away the fabric under the lace, creating an edge about one-eighth inch from the seams on the other side. Before doing this, make sure the lace is not too delicate.
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Where to buy it
A few of our favorite local sources for lace:
Jo-Ann Fabrics & Crafts,[no ‘s’ per website]i confirmed this on the phone.ac 1637 Lincoln Blvd., Santa Monica, (310) 450-6441, www.joann.com.
Michael Levine, 920 Maple Ave., Los Angeles, (213) 689-1363, mlfabric.com.
F&S; Fabrics, 10629 W. Pico Blvd., Los Angeles, (310) 475-1637, www.fandsfabrics.com.
