Step-by-step tutorial to make the Simplicity Peter Pan Collar with the Cricut Maker.
Who likes a good Peter Pan collar? Me! They can be SO cute and add a sweet touch to any neckline.
Today I am showing you how to make one using the Simplicity pattern with the Cricut Maker. Want to make one too? Let’s gather the supplies.
Supplies
Simplicity Peter Pan Collar Pattern in Cricut Design Space
3/8 yard of collar fabric (I used a sheer shimmer fabric.)
3/8 yard of neck fabric (I used a white cotton.)
3/8 yard of interfacing
Button or snap
Cricut Maker
12″ x 24″ Cricut Fabric Grip Mat
Cricut Washable Fabric Pen
Cricut Cutting Mat and Rotary Cutter
Cricut EasyPress
The pattern has you cut 3 different mats.
The first one is the interfacing.
The second one is the collar.
The third is the neckband.
Since I was using such a sheer fabric for my collar I wanted to back it with the white fabric. So I mixed up the pieces on the cutting mats. This way I could do one collar and one neckband out of each the sheer fabric and the white fabric.
It’s easy to change mats. You just click on the piece that you want to move and in the upper left-hand corner you’ll see three dots appear. When you click the three dots you can choose to move that piece to another mat or hide the piece completely. I just swapped one of the collar pieces for one of the neckband pieces. All 3 of my mats have a neck and the collar piece on them.
I also only had the fabric marker in the machine to write on the interfacing. I took it out of the machine when I went to cut my exterior fabrics. I didn’t want to write on the sheer fabric since I wasn’t sure how well it would wash out of it. Once everything was cut it was time to get to work.
Assembly
The first thing to do is to put the interfacing on the back of the fabrics. If you’re using a paper backed interfacing you can fuse it to the pieces. If you’re using just an interfacing like I did you won’t want to fust it because it will just stick to your ironing board. I spray basted them to the back of the white fabric.
Next, you’re going to put the right sides of both of the collar pieces together. So for mine, for example, the white is sandwiched in between the sheer fabric and the interfacing. Line up the notches on the top and pin into place.
Now the pattern recommends that to get nice even curves that you sew from the center out. So that is what I did. I started in the middle of the notches, but on the bottom edge of the collar just like is pictured in the pattern. Then I sewed 1/4″ all the way around the curve and up to the top of the color. Repeat for the other side overlapping stitches in the center.
Next, you’re going to trim your seam and clip your curves.
NOTE: Before you trim the seams make sure that you have it sewn together the right way. I messed that up later on on the neckband and then I had to unpick all the stitching and sew it the correct way with a very tiny seam allowance since I had already trimmed the seam allowance before I noticed I had done it wrong.
On page one of the pattern, it explains how to trim the seam. Since I’m using lightweight fabrics I just did a straight trim. You want to cut it down to about 1/8″ between your stitching and the edge. If you’re using heavier fabrics you’re going to do a graded cut. There are picture examples for both of these in the pattern.
You’re going to clip little triangles out of the edges of the collar curves. I did about four or five for each curve.
Then you want to open up with the right sides up and the wrong side down on your machine. You want the collar so it is flat and the stitching you just did is down the middle and the front is on one side of the needle and the back is on the other. Then you will topstitch the seam allowance to the back fabric. In my case, I stitched seam allowance to the white.
The instructions say to sew as far as possible. I sewed on the sides and the bottom and skipped the curve. It was too hard to get a good flat surface there for stitching. This gives the collar the structure and the finished edge of the topstitch without showing your topstitch on the front of the collar.
You’re going to turn your collar all the way so that the right sides are out. Press. It says to baste the top edge, however, once I pressed my interfacing stuck the pieces together. So I did not machine baste.
Then you want to pin the right side of your neckband to the backside of your collar. You should be able to see both of the front sides. Check step four of the pattern for the diagram. Baste them together between the dots by using a longer stitch and sewing in the seam allowance, so closer to the edge than the 1/4″ that your seams are.
Place the right side of the back of your neckband on the front of your collar. Right sides together. This is where I mixed it up. Your interfacing should be up. Mine was down. So then my neckband was not sandwiched the right way once I finished.
Just like with the collar you’re going to sew from the center of the neckband out around the curve to the edge. Do this for both sides, overlapping your stitches in the middle.
Trim your seams down to the 1/8″ again, following the pattern’s instructions based off of your fabric choice. Next, clip the curves of the neckline with the little triangle cut outs.
Turn the neckband right side out. The pattern says to press the themes under, but I skipped this step due to exposed interfacing.
I skip right to the part where I folded the raw edges in a 1/4″ under and then I clipped them together with binding clips as I went.
Next, you want to top stitch all the way around the edge of your neckband.
The final step is to finish your collar with a snap or a button. I did neither. My finished collar does not fit all the way around my neck. Sad day. So I won’t actually be wearing it.
I do think it looks super cute though. I had planned to wear it with this dress. What do you think? Would you make a Peter Pan collar?
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This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Cricut. The opinions and text are all mine.
[…] Amber Simmons made a classic white collar, but you can also make all sorts of colorful ones to show off your personal style like That Black Chic did with hers. […]