Tutorial: Refitting a t-shirt collar

I've mentioned a few times that my husband and I are big thrift store shoppers.  The prices are just unbeatable!  We especially like finding t-shirts at thrift stores because they can be so funny sometimes. 

One of our recent favorites had a picture of a cyclist and "Senior Olympics, To Participate is to Win" on the front.  So true and so funny.

The only problem with these t-shirts is that sometimes they just don't fit right.  Especially at the neck.  My husband does not like his collars to be stretched out and loose or super tight.  So I got to work trying to figure out a way to make them fit better.

Here are the steps that I use to make a too-snug collar looser:

1.  Turn shirt wrong-side-out and using a seam ripper, separate the collar from the shirt in the front.  Turn it right-side-out and it should look like this:

2.  Fold collar over so that the raw edges are touching.  It should look like this:

3.  Determine how much more room is needed in the front of the collar.  I typically need to add 1 inch for my husband.  With collar flipped down and raw edges touching, pull the middle front of the collar down 1 inch (or your predetermined distance) and pin it in place.  It will look like it does above, with extra shirt sticking out behind the collar.  Then pin the collar down on the sides as well, making a gradual slope to your center pin.  The collar should still be flipped down at this point.  If you want to try it on before sewing the collar in place use safety pins.

4.  Cut off the extra fabric that is sticking up above the raw edge of the collar (this will be 1 inch in the middle, sloping to smaller amounts on the side).

Super fuzzy picture, but you get the idea!

5.  Sew the collar in place (I used a 1/4" margin) using a straight stitch and then finish the raw edges with a zig-zag stitch or a serger.  Since all of the stitches will be on the inside of the shirt you can use any thread you have on hand - it doesn't have to match because it won't show.

Yup, this is a different shirt.  I was sewing a lot of them!

Warning:  I broke my needle by sewing over a safety pin!  This has never happened to me with straight pins before and it was a little scary!  Thankfully my machine came with extra needles.  I don't think I'll try sewing over safety pins again.

6.  Flip collar up and admire your work!