Drafting The Mandarin Collar

Today's post was a request from a lovely lady who lives in Sri Lanka. She has really embraced pattern drafting and is so excited about the process. She sent a picture to me of the drop shoulder sleeve that she drafted from my instructions and she did such a wonderful job. I'm really quite excited for her as learning to draft is a very uplifting experience. At least I think it is :)
There are a few methods for drafting a mandarin collar. I am going to share my preferred method.
I began with my trusty Butterick 5678 shirt pattern that I've used to draft a number of collars and sleeves.
Since I am starting with a pattern that has been developed for the attachment of a collar, I will not need to adjust the neckline. If you are starting with a bodice that fits close to the neck, you will need to adjust the neckline. Lower the center back 1/8" to 1/4" and the shoulder at neck edge, the same amount as you lowered center back. The center front should be lowered 1/4" to 1/2". Lower the shoulder at neck edge the same amount as you did the back bodice at the shoulder. The amount that you lower the neckline depends upon how much comfort you would like around the neckline as well as the design of your garment.
I personally like a shaped mandarin collar and I like to cut it on the bias if at all possible. The only time a shaped mandarin collar will not work is if you are using a stripe fabric.
To begin, I marked the 5/8" seam allowance around the neckline of my pattern.

I then measured from center back to the shoulder line along the seamline.

Then measure from the shoulder line to center front. With these 2 measurements we are now ready to draft the collar.

A mandarin collar can be as narrow as 1" or as wide as 1 1/2". The collar may be wider if you wish, but it will have a tendency to hit the chin.
Begin by drawing a vertical line for center back. From the center back line, draw a horizontal line the measurement of the back neck from center back to the shoulder line. Place a notch at this point. Determine the width of your collar and draw another horizontal line from center back.

From the shoulder notch, continue the line to center front. This measurement should be the amount measured from the shoulder line to center front on the neckline of your bodice. To develop the shaped collar, the center front line should be 2". Measure up 1/2" from the lower line and place a notch. At the top edge of the 2" line, measure over 1/2" and place a dot.

 Connect the notch at center front and the dot with a straight line.

 Connect the notch at center front to the shoulder notch with a straight line.

 Find the center between center front and the shoulder notch and place a mark at this point.

 From that mark, measure down 1/8" and place a mark.

 Connect the mark to center front and the shoulder notch with a slightly curved line.

 Using your ruler, measure up from the curved line the width of your collar.

 Now you can see the collar taking shape.

 Draw in the line.

The final pattern. 1/4" seam allowances were added around the entire collar pattern. Since I will be cutting my collar on the bias grainline, the collar is no longer on the fold, but one piece. There are notches for the shoulders and for center back. Cut 1 collar for the top and 1 for the under collar.

Once I have sewn my collar together, I like to edge stitch the under collar between the 2 shoulder notches.

Since I only added 1/4" seam allowances to my collar, I need to adjust the seam allowance on my bodice. I began by marking the 5/8" seam allowance and then measured up 1/4".

 3/8"was cut away from the neckline leaving a 1/4" seam allowance.

The final collar. Because the collar was cut on the bias, it sits very nicely around the neck. 

 The collar has a close fit to the neck, but there is still room for movement. 

Now you see just how easy it is to draft a shaped mandarin collar.
Good luck and happy drafting!
Rhonda