Next Level Collar Mending

I've sewn a handful of shirts for Matt over the past year.  This process, among other things, taught me about making collars.  

My handsome hubby in his newly mended green shirt.  3/29/2023

This knowledge, in turn, made me realize I could mend two of Matt's shirts that I had previously deemed beyond repair.  Or at least beyond repair in a way that would bring them back into service as work attire.  These shirts were the coolest he could buy at the charity shops (before we discovered I could make him bespoke cool shirts myself).  He wore them until the collars were so frayed along the folded edge that the interfacing peeked through.  Both had been downgraded to my stash of old garments to upcycle in future sewing projects.  

This is a "before" picture.  The collars are unfolded to display the worn-out strip down the middle along the fold.

With a new understanding of how the parts fit together--and that the collar itself was symmetrical--I realized I could rip out just one seam and flip the collar part over and then stitch it back up again.  Make the top the bottom--and hide the frayed edge underneath.  The bottom side of the collar wasn't frayed or worn at all.  It was like brand-new fabric, waiting under there patiently for its time in the sun.

I highlighted the seam I ripped out in red.  Then I flipped over the collar piece circled in yellow and re-stiched the red seam again.  

I am particularly pleased with this mend.  It delights me to see Matt wearing these shirts again.

Repaired and ready for work wear once again.