Restoring a Worn Collar on a Denim Shirt or Jacket
Sometimes a denim jacket or shirt still looks great, but the collar has worn out and lost its shape. A quick restoration lets you replace the collar on a shirt or jacket in a couple of hours and refresh a favorite piece — sometimes even turning it into a designer item.
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Translated
Things you will learn
A worn denim collar can be replaced with a new one in a couple of hours, without remaking the whole garment.
Fusible interfacing glued on the inside at worn spots reinforces the fabric before stitching.
Thick seams pass under the machine's presser foot more easily if you tap them with a hammer first.
An updated collar made from sturdy denim fabric
An updated collar made from sturdy denim fabric matched in shade to the shirt or jacket, reinforced with fusible interfacing and topstitching.
Materials and tools
Materials
Old jeans close in shade to the shirt or jacket
A small piece of fusible interfacing or interlining
"Denim" thread
Tools
Seam ripper
Iron
Sewing machine
Hammer
Scissors
Preparation
Preparation 1
Choose old jeans as close as possible in shade to the shirt or jacket, and prepare a small piece of fusible interfacing or interlining.
How to restore a worn collar
Taking apart the old collar
Use a seam ripper to remove all the seams and unpick the collar. Discard the inner layer that's badly worn, and steam the lower layer with an iron. Glue fusible interfacing to the inside at the worn spots, press it, and stitch over it several times to reinforce the piece. Choose "denim" thread.
Cutting the second collar piece
Trim off the "fringe" and cut the second collar piece from a jeans leg.
Sewing the collar pieces together
Pin the pieces right sides together, stitch, leaving the bottom edge open, and turn right side out. Then topstitch and steam the piece.
Pinning the collar to the garment
Pin the collar to the right side of the shirt or jacket, making sure to align the center back with the center of the collar.
Attaching the collar and hemming
Stitch the collar in place, turn it right side out, and hem the inside. Where the seams are thick, tap them with a hammer so the fabric lies flat and the machine can sew through it.
Finish and variations
Finish
Finished result
The finished collar made from sturdy denim fabric restores a neat look to the shirt or jacket and holds its shape thanks to the fusible interfacing and reinforcing stitching.
Variations
Variation 1
If you don't have denim fabric in a matching shade, you can substitute corduroy or faux leather — in that case, make the cuffs from the same fabric. You can also add decorative patches to the sleeves (see "Moths Ate the Sweater: Patching It Up", /ru/shite/2992-sviter-sela-mol-stavim-zaplatu).
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