Sombrio Polo Sew Along: Day 3 - Sew Shoulders, Assemble & Attach Collar

Today's sew along is going to cover a lot! We are going to attach the collar and finish the front placket. 

  

Sew Shoulders

  

Match the front and back together at the shoulders, right sides together, and stitch together at 5/8". For added reinforcement, you could sew a strip of twill tape to the shoulder seam allowance. Simply cut a strip of twill tape the length of the shoulder, match it to the shoulder and stitch the twill tape to the shoulder at the same time you are sewing the shoulder seam.

  

Assemble Collar

  

Fold the collar in half, right sides together, matching the notched edges. Stitch the short angled edges together using a straight or serge stitch. Trim and grade the seam allowances and clip the corners if you used a straight stitch.

  

Turn the collar right side out and neatly press. If desired, you can edge stitch and topstitch along the outer edges for a decorative detail.

  

Attach Collar

  

Match the collar to the neckline with right sides together. Align the notches at center back and shoulders. At the center front neckline, the raw edge of the collar will extend 1/2" past the placket seam. Make sure the placket and front seam allowance are facing toward center front. This construction is so that when finished, the collar edges will meet at center front rather than having a 1" gap between them.

  

Fold the placket pieces right sides together, matching the folded edge to the seam line, sandwiching the collar. Stitch around the neckline and placket with a straight stitch or serge at 5/8". 

Eventually the placket pieces will be turned right side out and will enclose part of the collar seam line. This would be a good time to double check that the collar and placket pieces are positioned and overlap correctly before moving on to the next steps. The folded edge of the placket should match to the placket seam line and there should be 1/2" of the placket extending past the collar. Adjust the pieces accordingly if needed. 

  

Now we will attach twill tape to the neckline seam allowance. Cut a strip of twill tape the length of the entire neckline edge, including the placket. Match the top edge of the twill tape to the stitch line along the neckline. The ends of the twill tape will stop just before the center fold of the placket pieces. This will help keep a nice corner at the top of the placket. Pin or use wash away tape to keep the twill tape in place.

Using a straight stitch, edgestitch along the top edge of the twill tape. It is very important that you are stitching the twill tape to the seam allowance only.

  

Turn the placket pieces right side out. Press the twill tape and seam allowance towards the front along the seam line. The twill tape will cover the raw edges of the seam allowance.

  

To stop the seam allowances from slipping upwards, using a straight stitch, edgestitch along the bottom edge of the twill tape. I started my stitching just after the placket seam line so my stitches would not be visible. You could start your stitches across the top of the placket if you want visible stitching. If you want to do this, make sure the placket pieces are positioned correctly, with the pressed edge of each placket matching the stitch line. 

This is when I decided to add my Thread Theory tag so that it was at the neckline. If you didn't add a tag or decorative square to your back facing piece you could add it at this step!

  

  

With the front right side up, fold the placket pieces away from center front to reveal the triangle cut out at the bottom of the placket. Neatly press the triangle flap to the wrong side of the front, making sure to create a straight folded line.
Fold the placket  pieces towards center front. Push the bottom edges of the placket to the wrong side of the front through the opening. Position the placket pieces so that the left front placket is overlapping the right front placket.

  

Fold the front away from the placket pieces to reveal the narrow edges and triangle cut out. Using a straight stitch, stitch through all layers as close to the base of the triangle as possible. Be very careful to not stitch through the front fabric. 

  

  

Flip the front right side up. Edgestitch along the seam lines of both placket pieces, making sure to catch the pressed edges of the placket underneath.
At the bottom of the placket, use a straight stitch to stitch either a small rectangle or square and decorative “X” through all layers.

Wow, we are on the home stretch now! Your Polo will be completed in the next post.