Lately I’ve been seeing some super cute cutout collars on dresses, and last week I decided to make a t-shirt version. Here’s how to make your own.

Left: Taylor Swift in an Honor dress. Middle: Free People. Right: BCBGeneration

Materials:
T-shirt
Stretch mesh or stretch lace fabric
Scissors
Sewing machine
Pins
Chalk or fabric marker
Iron
Freezer paper
Printer paper

Methods:
1. Mark the center of your collar with a piece of chalk. Using your shirt as a guide, draw a template for your collar and cut it out.  Here’s the one I used, though you’ll probably need to adjust it for your shirt neckline.

2. Trace your pattern onto freezer paper twice, flipping it so you have two mirror images of the collar piece. Cut them out and place them on the shirt shiny side down.


3. With your iron on low, iron one of the collar templates onto the outside of the shirt. On the inside, pin a piece of your mesh fabric behind the freezer paper.Make sure to stretch it taut and use lots of pins to hold it in place.

4. With a stretch or zigzag stitch, sew around the freezer paper template with a sewing machine. When you’re done, remove the first piece of freezer paper and repeat on the other side. (I found that if I ironed them both on in the beginning, the one I stitched second started to detach from the shirt before I sewed around it.)

5. On the right side of the shirt, very carefully snip the top layer of t-shirt fabric and trim it close to the lines of stitching. On the inside, trim the mesh fabric to about 1/4-inch beyond the stitching.

I think it’s a fun spring update for a t-shirt or dress. What do you think?