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How to Draft a Pullover Collar

Were you wondering about the awesome pull over that I show cased with my Heidi and Finn All You Need Jammies lounge pants? You can read here...

Were you wondering about the awesome pull over that I show cased with my Heidi and Finn All You Need Jammies lounge pants? You can read here about the All you Need Jammies.

But this post isn't about those is it?! Nope. So where'd the pull over come from? The pullover is actually the Winter Wear Designs Everything But the Kitchen Sink Henley. Does it look familiar? Probably not. You can read my original review here: WWD Everything But the Kitchen Sink

I made the track suit just hours after finishing testing the 5 out of 4 Men's Sierra Pull Over. You can read my review for that here: 5 out of 4 Men's Sierra Pullover

Why is that relevant? Because after I sewed up my 3 separate versions, I realized, I can do that. And then I did. I drafted the collar, added in the front placket, and voila, instant kid's pull over without purchasing another pattern. You can do this to ANY pattern you own. Men's, Women's, Kid's, probably even a dog pattern, lol.

Important note before you get started.
Pick a pattern that has a looser, more comfortable fit.
-Obviously 5 out of 4 already has the men's pattern covered. If you don't know how to sew this type of set in zipper, then I highly recommend purchasing their pattern just for the instructions. You can grab it here: 5 out of 4 Men's Sierra Pullover If you already own a men's pattern you want to hack, just be sure it will fit well in a heavier weight knit fabric (like poly fleece). This tutorial doesn't explain how to do the actual sewing, so you'll need to understand how to sew a zipper into a collar.
-A woman's pattern that I think would be awesome with this is the Patterns for Pirates Women's Raglan. Keep an eye out for a blog post on how that turned out soon. You can purchase that pattern here: Patterns For Pirates Women's Raglan
-For kids I used the "wider fit" cut line of the WWD EBTKS (I'm tired of writing it all out, LOL). That said, my kid runs on the slim side, so I knew that this fit would be just fine for her. If you aren't sure, make sure to sew up at least 1 version of the pattern as written and then consider whether it is loose enough for a pull over. If not, size up on the width for a better fit.

Ok, so you've picked your pattern. In order to draft your collar, you'll need to know the measurement of your neck line.

So measure the neckline of your pattern pieces, front and back. Let's assume, that my front is 5 3/8" and the back is 4 3/8"

We have to remember to remove the seam allowance. For simplicity, let's say the seam allowance is 3/8". So front is now 5" and back is 4". That makes 9" total. We will be drafting on the fold, so we have all the information we need now.

We are going to make 1/2 of a trapezoid. Don't remember your basic geometry? Here's a trapezoid:
Ok, so now you know the shape we're making. We're going to draft it on the fold.


So using a regular sheet of paper draw 2 lines, perpendicular to each other along the side of the page (or cheat, and use the side of the page, LOL).


You are going to use your number from before (in this example 9") and add in a 3/8" seam allowance. Along the bottom long edge, make a mark that is 9 3/8" away from the FOLD.

Now figure out how "tall" you want your collar to be. I guessed and made my collar 3 3/8" tall. The finished collar would then be 2 5/8" tall because of the 2 seam allowances. So make 2-3 marks away from your 9 3/8" that are 3 3/8" tall. Draw a line connecting these dots all the way across the page.

Now I'm cheating here. I'm sure there is a "right" way to figure out the next line, but again, I guessed. Along the drawn line, mark a point that is 1" less than your lower line. so 9 3/8"-1"= 8 3/8".

Connect the 9 3/8" point and the 8 3/8" point. You've now created 1/2 of a trapezoid. You can write "on the fold" if you want along the straight line.

You'll need to cut out 2 collars (on the fold) to make your collar.

I used a 7" zipper because it is what I had on hand. You can make your zipper as long or as short as you want. I suggest making your placket piece at least 3" wide. The length will be zipper length- collar height +1" (so you have room to turn it to the inside). In this example that is 7"-2 5/8"+1"= 5 3/8" long. So my placket piece would be 3" by 5 3/8".

This tutorial does NOT include how to sew the zipper in. That is far better explained in the 5 out of 4 Men's Sierra Pull Over Pattern.

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