Ruffled collars are evil...

[Lady Kett]

I just had to share that I am now of the opinion that a ruffled collar is evil. It may not have anything to do with the ruffle, it may just be that a finished collar is evil. I haven't quite given up yet, and am still trying to find enlightenment. Sidekick and I are currently debating what we think the silly instructions are trying to tell us as well as doing some research and testing with pins and basting stitches. But I figured this was definitely the place to come for a mini-scream while I enjoy a very strong adult beverage seeking my mental happy sewing place!

<scream!>
<toast>

Cheers!

[LadyShadow]

Which pattern are you using?  Maybe someone has used it and can let you know what worked for them when it came to that.

[Lady Kett]

The pattern is Butterick 5008. I suspect it's half our newbie-ness in sewing  PLUS some really horrid instructions. We aren't QUITE to the "plea for help" stage as much as we are to the "screw this and have a cocktail" stage.

Plus it is technically a mockup in muslin, which if we can make it work is great and gives Sidekick TWO shirts in different fabrics (the cheap stuff and the "good stuff").

Like I said, more of a vent than a plea for help. Not that help isn't appreciated, after all we learned to sew thanks to this forum!

[Adriana Rose]

Yay for the drinkies Just dont try to sew that might not be so good ( I sewed my self to a skirt after a glass of wine)

[Cilean]

I am on pain killers as I just had surgery on my shoulder.  So here it goes.

#1. Get some 30 to 40 lb fishing line.

#2. 3 X the inches of you neckline and cuffs.
A. Using math~   8" cuff x 3 = 24"
B. Hieght  1" is the smallest I have worked with 2" makes a nice figure 8 plus an extra 1" for sewing needs. so this means? H+1(3x)= your ruff dimensions.

#3. Cut out your pieces and remember no fold line at all for this. now comes the fun part. Use your cording foot or your zipper foot and sew the fishing line along the 3 sides of your ruff.

#4. gather will mean also looking at about a 1" turn and I use pins and pin the darn thing together and then sew (tie) the top edges together.

This will do many things your ruff will be lovely and hold up, you can wash this and it will not wilt!  And it will curve to your face.

I hope this helps and I am making sense!

Cilean
loopy and in pain but still here!

[operafantomet]

I just had to share that I am now of the opinion that a ruffled collar is evil. It may not have anything to do with the ruffle, it may just be that a finished collar is evil. I haven't quite given up yet, and am still trying to find enlightenment. Sidekick and I are currently debating what we think the silly instructions are trying to tell us as well as doing some research and testing with pins and basting stitches. But I figured this was definitely the place to come for a mini-scream while I enjoy a very strong adult beverage seeking my mental happy sewing place!

I have never attempted one myself, but I love reading about the one Eva Andersson made, based on the Sture shirts. She used curling tongs to set the shape,a nd it seems to have worked very well!
http://web.comhem.se/~u41200125/TempledeLyon.html

[Lady Kathleen of Olmsted]

Ruffs take lots of practice to do

[Lady Kett]

Hope you feel better soon Cilean!

Just for the record, this is a ruffle not a ruff. Just some frilly stuff on a man's shirt collar. I do not think I have am brave enough to try a ruff anytime soon. But the tips on the ruffs are quite handy to have!

[DonaCatalina]

- just throwing my 2 pence in the ring-
LOL
The ones His Lordship prefers resemble View A or View B. I threw away the pattern pieces.
For the ruffle I cut a strip 4" wide and 3x the circumference of his neck. For the collar base I cut 2 pieces 4" wide the circumference of his neck + 1.5 inches.
The ruffle if folded in half and sewn so that I can turn it inside out and the corner seams will be inside.
Then I box pleat the ruffle onto 1 piece of the collar base.
Then the second piece is sewn on so the whole thing can be flipped inside out and the ruffled part will pop out like a rooster comb.
Finish the raw edges of the collar base and attach to the shirt, pleating any excess neckline length of the shirt towards the back.
Elizabethan Ruffs, on the other hand, are the work of the devil.

[LadyStitch]

I just had to share that I am now of the opinion that a ruffled collar is evil. It may not have anything to do with the ruffle, it may just be that a finished collar is evil. I haven't quite given up yet, and am still trying to find enlightenment. Sidekick and I are currently debating what we think the silly instructions are trying to tell us as well as doing some research and testing with pins and basting stitches. But I figured this was definitely the place to come for a mini-scream while I enjoy a very strong adult beverage seeking my mental happy sewing place!
Cheers!

Actually this is a pattern that I use all the time for the theater.  Which view are you making?  I will tell you this the front slash/placket is REALLY LONG.  I usually just do the size M length on the shirts, even the 3XL.   I have done the ruffled cuff and collar before.  You finish 3 edges by turning 1/4 inch then turning again, then stitch.  Then run 2 lines of gathering stitches between the dots.
Since I have made this pattern in my sleep (literally) what is your problem?

[Lady Kathleen of Olmsted]

I use the  Double Stacked Box pleat method.

I make my strips 2 1/4" tall by 3 yards, plus a little extra. I serge my edges, add the trim over the serge, make the fitst mark 1/2" from a rolled hemmed edge, then 1" after that, until I get to the edge, with another 1/2'" mark. Using large Quitling pins, I make 2 rows of basting stitches to do a light gather to get the figure 8s.

Wrist ruffs are about 70" long to get a nice figure 8.

[Lady Kett]

Thanks for the tips! We are working on View B. I'm not sure we KNOW what our question is, other than we are trying to get the collar onto the shirt and no amount of reading the instructions is really enlightening us. We both know how we THINK it should look when it's done, it's just figuring how to sew the bits together. Of course this is all after we sewed the ties on... backwards...and had a good laugh.

It is a muslin mock up and we are bonding with our seam ripper and green thread (easier to see when you're ripping stuff out left and right!) in our experiments, and have had quite a few adult beverages and giggles over the whole thing. At some point soon, when we can sit still and read through all the tips provided here, as well as some other online sources, we should be able to get it working right.

If we can't, we'll post pics with our bewildered expressions and beg for some specific pointers.

[Lady Kathleen of Olmsted]

Being all caught up on Alterations, I am remaking the ruffs on one of my husband's Noble Shirts. Instead of trim, I did a tight rolled hem in black, then a row of decorative stitching. I have the pleats pinned to baste. I will do new neck and wrist bands as well. The trim on his shirt is getting ratty. Not very Noble-like.

[LadyStitch]

BTW for get the ties, they are evil.  They don't hold the shirt closed well, and the cuffs are very loose with them.  I just do the cuffs and add a button hole and button. 

http://sewing.patternreview.com/review/pattern/45330  That is one the reviews I have done on it.  It might be helpful.