Sew and embroider a tuck-in collar, with free pattern

December 24th is already fast approaching and many of my friends are going to various Christmas parties with the company or meeting up for coffee with friends to look back on the year. Especially at such celebrations I always like to impress with the matching accessories to my outfit and that’s why I present you behind the 6th door of the BERNINA Blog Advent Calendar 2024 this pretty tuck-in collar with snowflake embroidery. Of course, the pattern is included free of charge. This way you can sew a wide variety of collars and it’s always an eye-catcher and completely customized to you.

My alias is Zwillingsnadel (twin needle in German) and I love to add a homemade detail to simple outfits! The tuck-in collar actually only goes up to the chest, is unisex and can be used as a universal size for any round or V-neck. Practically sleeveless, it fits under any clothing in both winter and summer. We are now working on the winter version with a snowflake design. Thanks to my loyal bernette 79 Yaya Han Edition I can embroider any design I have in mind.

bernette 79 Yaya Han Edition

One of a kind and eye-catching machine design by cosplay star Yaya Han ✓ BERNINA Embroidery Software 9 Creator included ✓ 276 integrated embroidery designs, with exclusive designs by Yaya Han ✓ 3 embroidery hoops ✓ 18 presser feet, 8 of them in the Yaya Han Edition presser foot set

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Sew a tuck-in collar with a free pattern – perfect for a wintery look

Materials

0.4 m of non-slip fabric for the collar (linen, denim, batiste, twill), for delicate fabrics iron on interfacing beforehand
A pair of scissors
Pins
Thread
Chalk
Measuring tape
Iron
Use the embroidery hoop (here size M from bernette) and hoop ruler for embroidering
Tear-away stabilizer
Various embroidery threads
Optional buttons or press studs for fastening

Select motif and embroider collar

First, of course, you need to download and print out the free pattern for the collar.

Tuck-in collar 1

Tuck-in collar 2

The pattern comes without a seam allowance, which you have to draw right away. However, before you cut, I would recommend placing the embroidery on the fabric and then cutting it out.

I took the embroidery motif from the embroidery motif library of the BERNINA Embroidery Software 9. You can find it under the term HE538.

BERNINA Embroidery Software 9

BERNINA Embroidery Software available in two levels ✓ Designer Plus offers outstanding and creative embroidery ✓ Upgrade from Creator to DesignerPlus any time ✓ For experienced users and software newbies ✓ Edit existing designs or create your own ✓ New tools and functions ✓ Transfer your designs wirelessly with the BERNINA WiFi Device ✓

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If you don’t have the software, you can download a similar file from oesd.com, examples would be these pretty snowflakes here.

I placed the file in an M embroidery frame, copied it and mirrored it vertically. I then positioned the two motifs in the embroidery hoop with a good amount of space between them. Now you can of course also change the colors, I have chosen a few pretty shades of blue.

I then stretched the fabric into the embroidery hoop with plenty of space to the left and right. The whole thing was stabilized with the embroidery stabilizer Stitch-n-Tear which can simply be torn off after embroidering.

To be on the safe side, place your collar cut like this to make sure you have enough space in both directions. Then you can get the machine ready and start embroidering.

The pretty ice blue really comes into its own on the light gray fabric! We continue with the cutting.

Cutting the pattern pieces

It’s best to start with the collar. To do this, place the pattern with the triangular tip on the embroidery. Position the neckline where you would like the design to sit.

Then pin the cut and cut around it with a 1 cm seam allowance. Also likes to set the gusset for the collar pieces to be put together later.

Once the collar has been cut, turn it once and place it on the other embroidery, mirror-inverted if possible. The better the fit, the more symmetrical the look will be in the end.

Then cut out the 2nd collar and you should end up with 2 twins.

Cut the remaining pattern pieces as described. Place the back piece in the fold. A 1 cm seam allowance is added to all parts. You have to cut the collar band 4 times, I have reinforced this element again with interlining so that the collar stands up nicely at the end.

You can also reinforce the button placket on the front with interlining if necessary. Additional support is particularly important for buttonholes.

In the end, you should have 2 front pieces, 1 back piece, 4 stays and 4 collar pieces.

Assemble and neaten

You can already see the ironing lines for the button placket on the front. This button placket is directly included in the cut of the front piece, so it is nice and thin at the end and is not attached additionally.

The markings will help you to fold over. First fold over 1 cm on the back of the fabric.

Then fold in 2 cm along the marking.

Now you have 2 beautiful facings for the button placket, topstitch them once at a distance of 1.5 cm from the edge and you have already mastered this element.

Next, place the front and back pieces together at the shoulder seam and sew them together with a 1 cm seam allowance.

You can then secure the open edge of the fabric. I used a fixed zig-zag stitch for this.

Now press the seam allowance towards the back and topstitch it down again. This keeps everything in place.

The next step is to finish the outer edge of the top. To do this, simply fold the seam allowance over twice and sew over it at an even distance. The curves are a little difficult, but if you pin everything well, you will succeed.

You can also use the pattern to mark the position of the buttons later on. Make sure that the button placket is even with the seam.

And after ironing, the top is ready for the next step: the collar.

Attaching the collar

First you have to assemble the different collar parts. So make 4 out of 8 pattern pieces (make sure that the embroidered collar is also sewn together with its twin!)

Then press open again and topstitch down the seam allowance.

Now place the two collar pieces on top of each other with the pretty side facing inwards. Pin everything securely in place and sew once with a 1 cm seam allowance. The bottom edge of the fabric remains open!

Next, cut in the seam allowance. Once along the entire route and also cut the tips.

After turning it inside out and ironing it out, you should have a wonderful embroidered collar.

The next step is to attach the stand. To make things a little easier for you, I would proceed as follows. First, place a stand pattern piece on the open edge of the collar and secure it with pins. The gussets in the fabric can help you to hit the back seam and shoulder seam position exactly.

Once this has been done, place the 2nd stand pattern piece on the other side and secure it with the pins provided. The collar now lies in a sandwich of the stand parts.

Now sew once along the pinned line with a 1 cm seam allowance to join the collar to the stand. Again, make regular incisions as shown.

If you now turn the stand over, you have conjured up a beautifully clean shirt collar. Of course, this deserves an extra dose of love with the iron to get it into perfect shape.

Almost there! Now the five parts of the ball just need to be sewn together.

Sew the collar to the top

Now you just have to make sure that you place the pattern pieces on top of each other in the correct order. So here we go: you grab your top and lay it down so that you can see the “pretty” side of the back. Next, place your collar on the open edge of the fabric. Very important: the collar side with the embroidery must be facing upwards at the end! Again, use the gussets as markers.

The stand at the front is flush with the button placket. The marked out section is then fixed once with a 1 cm seam allowance.

Now press the sewn seam allowance upwards to form the collar stand.

Now you can shape the remaining open edge upwards along this seam and secure it.

The final step is to topstitch the entire stand once close to the edge. This holds everything firmly together. Then fold the collar over and iron once more and all that’s left are the buttons.

Attach fasteners or buttons

Last but not least, of course, a suitable closure is still missing. The markings for the buttons have already been set. I used press studs for this project because they don’t push through the sweater. Of course, you can also use normal buttonholes and buttons in the button placket.

And the tuck-in collar is finished! Combined with matching colors, this piece is a real eye-catcher, both elegant and creative! In summer with sunflowers and bees, in spring with daisies in pastel shades. You can implement so many great ideas with it.