Turn out perfect collar corners

Here is the link to the 'How to turn your collar points so that they're perfect' tutorial that I promised to post at the Sew a Detachable Collar session on Monday 3 March.

The Off The Cuff tutorial

I don't think that you need quite as long a thread as shown here, a bit shorter is fine too. 

While the collar is still inside out and hasn't been turned yet: only the thread loops should be showing outside the whole thing.  If you can see the two ends of thread and the loop is hidden inside the collar layer sandwich, that's the wrong way round (ask me how I know. I've done this wrong on every single collar I sewed up as samples on Sunday. Yes, every single one).

Once you turn the collar out through the gap left in the stitching, you should then gain access to the two loose ends of the thread.  You want to pull at both of them at the same time - just like the tutorial emphasises.

You can apply this trick to every type of garment where you need to turn a corner inside out. You could even use a couple of thread loops on a strong curve to turn that out if you feel it'll be difficult to do, on say the end of a rounded lapel that has no point but a sharp curve?  Or perhaps the end of a fabric tube that you sew shut, that kind of thing.  Those long, thin tubes of fabric are often turned inside out with a plastic gadget that acts a bit like a needle.  Thread loops are as good as that gadget, and definitely much better than a safety pin, which is what I used to use.

I had a problem with cutting into the thread when trimming the corners - you want to make sure to hold the thread loop out of the way when it comes to trimming.  Or insert the thread after sewing with the help of a darning needle, that works very well too!

After turning with the thread loops still attached

Let us know of your experience turning collar points.  Have you tried this technique and what do you think?  Do you do something different, and how are you finding it?  Please let us pick your brain for further insights into other ways of doing this!


Re stitching along the top and outside edges of a collar: I have seen more than one tailor/dressmaker sew off the edge of the fabric and sew each seam of the collar in separate goes.  I am not quite sure how different this is to pivoting at the corner and sewing without cutting the thread.  Does anyone have any insights into this?