DIY collar extender: a complete guide
If your shirt collars are a little too tight a tempting at home solution can be to make a DIY collar extender. To start, locate a piece of spare fabric that ideally is the same or a similar color as the main shirt fabric. If you are planning on using this to wear the shirt with a tie then matching the fabric matters less since the collar extender won’t be visible. For shirts with unique fabric patterns, you are unlikely to find the exact fabric anyway so picking something similar as the main shade of fabric works best.
While collar extenders are widely available commercially and at a relatively low cost, there are a few reasons you may opt to make a collar extender at home. One reason is cost, a collar extender you make at home is that assuming you have the equipment, it can be done for free. An additional reason is that you can make it out of fabric which is softer rather than metal or plastic which is what commercially available collar extenders are made of. The main reason though is that collar extenders available for purchase come in a fixed size usually 0.4 or 0.5 inches. In some cases, they are made from stretch materials that give you a little bit of wiggle room. In any event though, if you may need to extend your collar by more than this if you have meaningfully outgrown the shirt. For example, you may need to add an entire inch to the collar and so the off the rack collar extenders won’t work for you.
To make a DIY collar extender you really only need a piece of spare fabric, an extra button and some sewing materials. You can sew by it hand but using a sewing machine will make it look more professional. Figure out the desired length for your fabric tab extender. In this case let’s assume one inch. If you are unsure how long you need it to be, you can hold a measuring tape at your collar and measure the distance between the collar button and the center of the buttonhole needed to make the collar feel comfortable. It’s important to use the center of the buttonhole rather than the If you don’t have a measuring tape simply hold the fabric up and note with pins the location of the button and button hole. You’ll want to make sure you leave a buffer from the edge of the edge of the fabric on either side. Mark these using tailor’s chalk or pencil and remove the pins. Start with the button and sew the button onto the selected location. Using a sewing machine select the zig zag stitch option that matches the width of the holes on the buttons. You’ll want to use a piece of tape to keep the button in place while sewing. If your sewing machine comes with a button foot use that instead to avoid needing a new piece of tape every time you want to sew a button. For a 4-hole button start by sewing one pair of holes in a zigzag fashion and then rotate the button to sew the other paid of holes.
To sew the button hole put the button hole presser on the sewing machine. There should be a lever for releasing the presser foot. Snap the buttonhole foot onto the machine. You’ll want to minimize the stitch length by setting it to zero. While some advanced machines create button holes automatically in the correct size based on the inserted button a simple sewing won’t but you can still make a button hole using a 4-step sewing process. Think of the buttonhole as a rectangle. You need to sew each side and add the ends to the button hole by sewing four lines. Two of the lines should be narrow and horizontal and the other two should be longer and horizontal. You’ll need two separate settings one for the vertical and one for the horizontal lines. Settings on a sewing machine are factor of three main inputs: stitch length, width and tension. Length determines how long each stitch is. Shorter stitches are sturdier whilst longer stitches are for decorative purposes. Thread tension is determined by the thread you are using, the fabric type and needle size. Therefore, the tension is not something you change specifically for sewing the button holes and you should simply keep the same thread tension setting used for the rest of the garment. Stitch width determines how far a needle moves from side to side while sewing. This allows you to alter the design or shape of the stitch. For example, a straight stitch, decorative stitch or zig zag stitch. For sewing the horizontal part of the button hole, you essentially want the stitch length to be zero but the width to be zig zag. When moving between each step in the button hole sewing process make sure the needle is raised to the highest point to change direction. Once you are done you can use either scissors or a seam ripper to open up the button hole.
In terms of using your DIY collar extender it’s quite simple. The side with the button goes into the shirt collar’s button hole and the side with the button hole goes over the shirt collar’s button. When worn with a tie the collar extender should be hidden. A collar extender is meant to create and bridge the extra space needed between the ends of the shirt’s collar bands necessary to fasten the collar.
If you are wearing a pre-tied bow tie and the bow tie is too tight as well you can also make the bow tie larger by improvising with a safety pin. Pass the safety pin needle through the loop at the end of the bow tie and fasten the safety pin. Then use the hook at the other clasp of the bow tie to latch onto the safety pin. This should add about an inch to your bow tie and let you clasp it for a finished look. Since the clasp is typically located towards the back and sits under the collar leaf none of this will be visible.
If using a collar extender does not appeal to you and you want to address the root cause of the problem you can enlarge the shirt collar. Sewing a larger collar onto an existing shirt neckline is an alteration we specialize in. We craft custom collars where the bottom line and collar size are two distinct measurements. This serves as a permanent solution rather than needing to add a collar extender every time. It’s also more visually appealing as a collar extender cannot hide the enlarged tie gap and the fact that the two collar leaves are further apart than they ought to be.