I saw several RTW blouses recently that had a ruffled collar. I loved the style of them but to my surprise I could not find any sewing patterns with this detail! It seemed easy enough to hack so I searched through my patterns for a simple blouse to start. Megan Nielsen’s Sudley was perfect. This pattern is reversible so you can wear the keyhole or the rounded neckline forward. I love how you get two different looks out of one garment. I also knew I wanted a long sleeve with an elastic cuff so I made view D. I happened to come across a vintage pattern close to what I was looking for so I used that as a starting point for my collar.
I cut three rectangles- one for the rounded side and two for the key hole side. My shorter rectangles measured about 4″ x 10. 5″ and my longer rectangle measured about 4″ x 22″. You can adjust the height for a narrower or wider ruffle, and also the length for more gathers or less. As different sizes have different neckline widths, you may need to adjust. I french seamed the short ends together. (One short, long, and then the other short) to create one long rectangle. I then narrow hemmed the two short ends and one long end. After that, I sewed one line of a gathering stitch (machine stitch length set to 4 or 5) 1/4 inch from the non hemmed edge.
I then pinned the collar onto the blouse , matching the ends to the keyhole opening and the collar seams to my shoulder seams. I gently pulled the gathering stitch until my collar fit on my neckline. Once it was pinned in place, I stitched it with a 1/4” seam allowance. I then followed the rest of the instructions and bias faced the neckline.
I love how it turned out. I planned to wear the plain side forward but I love the keyhole side more! It’s good to know I have options though. This was my first time using the Sudley pattern. I will definitely be making the dress with a pater pan collar. I already have my fabrics picked out!
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