Details and trims

Collars

There are three main types of collar:

flat collars, which include the Peter
Pan, Eton and sailor; stand collars,
such as the mandarin, polo and shirt
collar; and grown-on collars (which
are knitted in one with the garment)
such as rever, roll and reefer styles.
All these shapes can be developed
into a variety of frilled collars, using a
simple pattern cutting technique.

Collars may be knitted in various

ways. One method is to knit the collar
horizontally, in plain or patterned
knit, on a single bed machine. The
collar can be folded in half to make
a double thickness and it can be
shaped in to the fold line and back
out to the neck edge, or vice-versa,
depending on the style.

Another way is to knit the collar

horizontally on a double bed
machine and keep it as a single
thickness; this method lends itself
well to shaping possibilities. Either
of these collar types can be knitted
on to the neckline by picking up the
neck edge of the garment or they can
be cast on to the machine separately.
The cast-on edge is usually neater
than the cast-off edge and looks
better as the outer edge of the collar.

A third method is to knit the collar

vertically; it is knitted separately on a
single- or double bed machine and
attached later. Paper patterns are
used to draft these collars; so for
instance, flat collars can be drawn
straight on to the neck edge of the
body pattern and then traced off
and adjusted. Alternatively, the neck
measurements can be used to draft
a variety of straight-edged collars.
Shaping can be knitted into a basic
collar, with partial knitting used to
create darts around the neck (useful
for an Eton collar style), or to add flare
and create ruffles and frills.
Details and trims