Princesses, plackets, paper, and pleats

Princesses, plackets, paper, and pleats. Oh shirr, let's not forget the godets. While reviewing examples this type of collar so I can learn how to cobble together my own chemissete with shirred neckline for under a Regency riding habit, I came across this painting of Queen Louise of Mecklenburg-Strelitz by Wilhelm Ternite, 1810 (Source: Wikipedia).

 Many Regency habits were inspired by the military uniforms of the time. I love the shirred collar on this chemisette (which is made like a dickie to fill in the neckline of the dress). I was lucky to find a modern pattern that

includes a shirred neck.

The Sewing Workshop Collection has a pattern "Chopin Bouse" which incorporates a shirred collar and cuffs. I love SWC patterns because they offer stylish patterns with explicit directions for advanced tailoring techniques. For example, if you need to pin up a lot of hems, make a cardboard template in the shape of a ruler that is 1 inch wide. Then you can fold up the material over this template, press, and pin --which saves time.

Here's a SWC tip for easily making a shirred collar. Use a paper template for the final shape. Pin material to paper, adjust gathers, and pin to fabric backing for collar. This is such as easy way to evenly distribute the gathers and keep them in place when you stitch. When done, you rip the paper from the material. I used regular paper for a normal weight cotton but you might want to use thinner paper for finer material or even a dissolvable stabilizer so you don't rip out stitches when removing the paper.