My husband wears button-down collar shirts to work, and, while the rest of the shirt will still be fine, the collars tend to wear at the fold. I've found I can flip the collar by (carefully) taking out the stitches and then turning it over, and sewing it back.
You have to have a sewing machine for this, and I use a 12-stitch per inch or even higher to resew the collar. Also, check under the collar first to make sure there are no numbers stamped on the fabric.
When you flip a button-down collar, the buttonholes line up perfectly with the tiny buttons on the shirt. Just this week, my husband was ready to toss a couple of cotton shirts that he really liked, because the collars had tiny holes in them. The underside was fine, so now he's going to get at least another year's wearing out of the two shirts.
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Betty's tip about cutting her husband's frayed cuffs off and making long sleeves into short, reminds me of how I have extended the life of some of my husband's nicer shirts that have frayed collars.
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My husband has a tendency to wear out the collar on his dress shirts. Does anyone have a tip for repair or use for the shirt (other than quilt material)?
Before the collars are completely worn, carefully take them off and turn them around with the worn side down.(
Funny, I was just talking to someone about this very thing the other night! This person could sew and what she did was take the collar off and reverse it. Sounds like a plan!
When my children were little; I`d put the collarless shirts on them, buttoning down the back. Then I`d roll up the sleeves to a comfortable length for the children and button up the sleeves. Sometimes they were used for art work (or other messy kid-type activities.
Carefully pick out the collar from neckband, using a thread pick. Turn it over and reinsert it in the neckband, keeping everything even. Carefully resew it. I've done this a few times and it is not difficult.
You could also take the collar off and sew the neck back together for a mandarin collar. (This is good after you have used both sides of the collar.) He won't be able to wear it with ties anymore, but he can still wear it to go out, if he likes that sort of collar.
For shirts that have worn collars take them off and sew the rounded edge back up. You may have to replace that part with a new piece of material. A friend does this all the time with her husbands' shirts only she does it with the new ones. He likes the look of a western style shirt, but the costs are too high. so maybe this could be an option for those who still like the look of the shirt they have.
By RoseMary
Don't waste your time go to the pro at:
http://www.collarreplacement.com
Get a neckband shirt with detachable collars. You can get them at http://www.amazondrygoods.com
IM NO GOOD AT SEWING, SO I'D JUST BUY A NEW SHIRT !!
I DO HAVE A QUESTION THOUGH, WHAT CAUSES THE TIPS ON MY HUSBANDS SHIRTS TO GO WHITE AND FRAY, IS IT WEAR AND TEAR OR AM I DOING SOMETHING WRONG ?
I just do a zig-zag with my sewing machine over the worn part of the collar. Quick, easy and I have saved many, many of my family members' shirts this way.
Reading all these wonderful posts reminded me of how my mother would carefully remove the collar from my father's favorite shirt and repair it and then reverse it.Some of his shirts were his favorite and they were done this way until they could no longer be repaired......Cindy D........
I had the same problem. Why do it your self when you can have the pros do it for twenty dollars at
www.collarreplacement.com
My husband's business shirts have frayed collars and cuffs. I don't sew, but I understand you can flip these worn ends and turn them around. How much should I pay? Would my dry cleaners or a tailor do this?
I think buying new ones would be less expensive.Seamstresses aren't cheap. I know, because I sometimes sew for people.
Don't do it. As another writer says, it's too expensive. Even if it were free, you end up with cuffs and collars that are worn thin. You'd be lucky to get a dozen wearings before it's frayed again.
Elaress
I'm with the other posters, it's just not cost effective.
This is a good idea, but only if you can do the work yourself for free. Its easy. Just unpick the seam. Turn the collar over. Then resew. Try it. You have nothing to lose.
Best wishes always,
Well, these shirts are very expensive and I think I'd like to try and save them.
I just wanted to know if they still look good after the collars are flipped.
It will cost 20 to 30 dollars or more to have this done.It is also NOT that easy unless you have some experience. It is not difficult to do but it is time consuming to rip out all collar seams and topstitching--and then put them all back. And then getting it to lay right when pressed may be difficult, but it isn't impossible.
Don't waste your time and money. If you look in thrift shops you can find wonderful, all-cotton, high -thread- count designer dress shirts if you look hard- and probably pay only $4-5. My Goodwills have been distributing scratch off tickets the last couple of years- some give an additional 10 or 20% off your next purchase.
Cuffs (French, at least) are fairly easy and will generally look quite presentable; here in the UK I pay the equivalent of USD10-12 for this service. Collars are more problematic and I personally won't have mine done - I have the collars removed and the shirts converted to take detachable collars at USD 4-5 a time. If you do have the collars turned, you may find two problems - firstly, if the shirts have set-in stays, you may find that the shape of the stays is visible on the (now) top surface of the collar, and even that that surface is wrinkled through not having shrunk as much as the top surface, or having more spare fabric built-in. Secondly, if the shirt has removable stays, you will find that the stay pockets are visible on the (now) top surface of the collar. In either case I would recommend either getting the collar replaced entirely, or refaced with material from the shirt tail; I believe these surfaces would come in at around USD20-25+
Anthony.
