Peter pan collar top

sew a collared top

1 Download and print the pattern. Cut one top front on the fold and two back top pieces from fabric. Cut two pairs of collars from white cotton and one pair from fusible interfacing. From the remaining georgette fabric, cut two 4cm x 50cm bias strips at a 45° angle from the grain.

2 Assemble the darts in the top front and press well. Fold and press in 1cm on either side of the bias strips or use a bias binding folder. Stitch the shoulder seams of the top front and back together, right sides facing, using a 1.5cm seam allowance. Neaten the seams by either overlocking or zig zag stitching. Press the seams open.

3 Open out one edge of one of the bias strips and position it around the right side of the armhole. Pin in place, then stitch along the fold line pressed into the strip. Next, fold the tape over onto the wrong side of the armhole and position the remaining folded edge over the stitching line. Pin and edge stitch in place, sandwiching the raw edge of the armhole inside the bias binding. Alternatively, slip stitch by hand. Trim away any excess binding at the base of the armholes.

4 Fuse the interfacing collars to one fabric pair. With right sides facing, pin the fabric collars together and stitch around the outer edges, using a 1cm seam allowance. Trim the corners, and the seam allowance to 3mm. Turn the collars to the right side, tease out the corners, then carefully press.

5 Position and pin the wrong side of the collars to the right sides of the top neckline, matching the notches on the collars to the shoulder seams of the top. The neckline of the top should extend out beyond the centre backs of the collars by 1.5cm; this is the seam allowance for the centre back seam of the top. Stitch the collar to the top using a 1cm seam allowance.

6 Lay a length of folded white bias binding on top of the stitching line at the neckline, right sides facing, then edge stitch to cover the original stitching line. Trim and clip the seam allowance around the neckline, then wrap the bias binding around the seam allowance, folding the entire strip to the wrong side. Pin, then edge stitch along the fold of the binding, sealing all the raw edges inside.

7 Neaten the edges of the side seams by either overlocking or zig zag stitching, then sew right sides together using a 1.5cm seam allowance. Press the seams open.

8 Neaten the raw edges of the centre back seams, then stitch together with a 1.5cm seam allowance, leaving a gap of 20cm at the top. Press the seams open, including the unstitched part, which will become the back opening. Fold and hand stitch the seam allowance that extends out from the edges of the collar.

9 Sew a small button to the top of the opening, then make a hand stitched loop on the opposite side. Neaten the hem of the top by either overlocking or zig zag stitching. Fold and press up 3cm, pin, then hand stitch in place.