Sewing a Perfect Peter Pan Collar — Part 1: Making the Collar
A good Peter Pan collar is a mix of things: the right pattern, careful sewing, a little patience, and some practice. The single most important part is the pattern — it has to be drafted so the collar lies flat against the dress and doesn't lift or "fly" away from the neckline.
In this post I'm not going to focus on drafting the collar (I can write a separate post on that if there's interest) — instead I'll show you how to sew the collar so it comes out perfectly round and crisp. The video has no voice-over; it simply shows each step as I work, and this post fills in the detail.
What you'll need
- A lightweight fabric for the collar — ideally the same weight as the dress fabric, so the finished collar stays soft and lies flat.
- A sewing machine, fitted with a needle and threaded, ready to sew.
- A water-soluble (water-removable) marker.
- Small sharp scissors, and a rotary cutter (cutting wheel) if you have one.
- Pinking shears (optional, for trimming the curve).
- A point turner.
- An iron.
- A small spray bottle of water — the refillable kind sold in travel toiletry packs is ideal.
- Kitchen paper and a cotton bud, for removing the marker.
- A stabiliser (optional).
Preparing the pattern and cutting
If your pattern includes a seam allowance, you need to remove the outer seam allowance — the curved outer edge of the collar — but keep the seam allowance on the inner edge, the one that will be sewn to the neckline.
Once the outer seam allowance is removed, trace a new line where the outer edge now sits. This new line is your sewing line. Cut along it as accurately as you can — the precision here is what gives you a smooth curve later.
I find a large pair of scissors works best, and the trick is not to stop: cut the whole collar in one continuous motion from start to finish, rather than in little snips. Stopping and starting leaves tiny steps in the curve.
Setting up to sew
Before you cut the rectangle, lay your collar piece on the fabric to check you'll have enough room to sew — you want at least 1 inch of spare fabric all around the collar. (Very experienced sewers can get away with less.) Cut the rectangle on the straight grain, then fold it to make a triangle, with the right side of the fabric inside — a double layer — and place the collar on top, as shown in the video.
Trace carefully all the way around the collar with a water-soluble (water-removable) marker. The outer line you draw is the one you'll stitch along; the inner line marks the seam allowance that will later attach the collar to the bodice. While you're at it, put a small mark on the front of each collar piece. As I work I always keep the front facing me, so between that habit and the little mark I never lose track of which side is the front — right up until the marker is washed out later.
Stitching the curve
Set a very small stitch length — somewhere between 1 and 1.5 mm. Small stitches follow a curve far better than long ones and give a smoother edge.
Always start stitching from the front of the collar — and start both collars from the same point. I found that if you begin one collar from the front and the other from the back, the two can end up slightly mismatched; starting both from the front keeps the pair identical.
You stitch only the outer curved edge of the collar; the inner neck edge stays open — that's what you'll turn the collar through, and later attach to the bodice.
Begin with a few reverse stitches to secure the start of the seam, then sew slowly, stitching right on the outer line you drew. Every time you reach a turn in the curve and need to pivot, stop with the machine needle down, inside the fabric — then lift the foot, turn slightly, lower the foot and carry on. Keeping the needle down at every pivot is what keeps the curve continuous and even.
This part takes practice. You won't get it perfect after two or three collars — it comes with repetition, so don't be discouraged.
If you have one of the modern sewing machines that lets you pivot without lifting the presser foot each time (a pivot function or a knee lift), this step is much easier.
A note on stabiliser
You can place a stabiliser under the collar to help the fabric feed smoothly and hold its shape while you stitch. If you do, be careful when removing it afterwards not to pull or distort the stitches.
Make the second collar
Sew the second collar in exactly the same way. A Peter Pan collar is made in two halves, so you'll end up with a matching pair.
Cutting and trimming the collars
First, cut the inner edge — the line that will attach to the bodice — along the traced line, using a rotary cutter (cutting wheel) or regular scissors. This edge is left open: it's how you'll turn the collar out, and later it sits enclosed in the bodice seam.
Then trim the outer, stitched curve:
If you have pinking shears, trim close to the stitching, leaving about 1.5 mm — but take care not to cut into the stitching line. The pinked zig-zag edge takes care of the curve for you, so no separate clipping is needed.
If you don't have pinking shears, first trim the seam allowance to about 1/4 inch (6 mm) from the stitching. Then clip into the seam allowance around the curve — small snips towards the stitching, but never into it — and finally trim the allowance down to about 2 mm.
A tip on the order: make your clips while you still have that 1/4 inch of allowance. It's much easier and safer to clip with room to work. If you trim down to 2 mm first and then try to clip, it's very easy to cut through the seam by mistake.
Do both collars this way, then use a point turner to turn them right side out and ease the curved edge fully out and smooth.
Pressing the collars
Once the collar is turned out, press it with the iron — but press, don't iron. Lift the iron and press straight down; don't slide it back and forth. Sliding the iron drags and distorts the collar, and it can stretch the neck edge so that the neckline ends up bigger than it should be.
If the shape needs correcting, run the point turner gently around the inside of the curve to ease the edge out fully, then press again.
Finally, if you haven't already removed the water-soluble marker, spray the collar with water to take it out. After spraying, lay the collar pieces between sheets of kitchen paper and press lightly to draw the water out — or, for a more targeted job, lift the marker with a cotton bud dipped in water. Either way, absorb most of the liquid before you iron, then press the collar once more.
That's the collar made
Both collars are now stitched, trimmed, turned and pressed — a neat, crisp pair, ready to go on a dress. In Part 2 I'll show how to attach them to the bodice for a clean, professional finish.
Key points to remember
- Use a lightweight fabric, the same weight as the dress.
- Mark the front, and start both collars from the front, so the pair matches.
- Keep the needle down at every pivot to follow the curve smoothly.
- Clip the curve while you still have room, before the final trim.
- Press, don't iron — straight down, never sliding, or you'll stretch the neckline.
- Remove the marker and blot the water out before the last press.
Watch the full step-by-step in the video below. For finished dresses and more of my heirloom work, visit sasha-doll.com.
When a dress has a collar, I never begin with the collar. I'll do the shoulder seams on the bodice and the lining first, and if there are panties or an underskirt planned, I'll make those too. Then, once I've been sewing for a little while and I'm warmed up, I turn to the collar pieces. I usually prepare four — that way, if there's one I'm not happy with, I have a spare, and if they all come out perfectly, I have two left over for a dress another time.
Often the iron, a point turner and a little water will fix small imperfections in a seam. So if a collar doesn't look quite right, don't throw it away — first think whether you can put it right with those. And if you can't, just think how many dolls you've seen with less-than-perfect collars, and not one of them looking the least bit unhappy about it :-) Next time yours will be better :-)
And if a collar isn't quite good but you don't want to make another, you can work a blanket stitch just along the edge — it will cover the imperfection nicely.
Next time I make a collared dress I may well remember something else, and then I'll update the full PDF guide with everything together.
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