Sewing a cowl onto any pattern

Since cooler weather is here I decided I wanted to add a cowl collar to my next dress. It's next best to wearing a scarf, which I love too, but not all day at home.

After some trial and error, I came up with a pattern that could work for any dress pattern I wanted to add a cowl too.

I will take you through the steps I took to add a cowl collar to The Sophie Dress. You can do this to any pattern you choose.

The above picture shows how to come up with your own personal cowl collar pattern.

Let's go through the measurements. The first one is finding the circumference of your neckline. After cutting out your dress, sew the shoulder seams and then measure all around the neck opening.

Or measure the front and back neckline on your pattern pieces making sure to take off the seam allowances and adding the pattern measurement twice since the pattern is half the finished piece.

My neckline measured 22 inches. Divide that measurement in half and add 3/8 inch for seam allowance. Mine came to 11 3/8 inches. This measurement is the top and bottom measurement-the "half the length of neck circumference".

The next measurement is the measurement that creates the point in the above pattern. This is not absolutely necessary, but I wanted it so that the cowl would sit further out on my shoulder instead of all close to my neck.

I got my measurement by laying the measuring tape loosely around my neck and shoulders about 2 inches out from the base of my neck. My measurement was about 26 inches. Divide this measurement in half, again adding the 3/8 inch seam allowance. This is the "half the length of top shoulder circumference" measurement.

Next is deciding how "bunchy" you want your cowl collar to be. I wanted my cowl to be about 7 inches wide when finished. So I doubled that number, added the seam allowance, and then rounded it up to 15 inches. This is the "2X the desired length" measurement.

The line this measurement makes is the "FOLD" end of the pattern. I made my pattern by taping many pieces of paper together. 😄 You can use paper or make your lines on the fabric with a pen.

Now you are ready to cut out your dress and start sewing!

After you have cut out the cowl, mark the center of the cowl on both sides so it's easier to pin at the center front.

With right sides facing sew the pointed ends together using 3/8" seam allowance.

Iron the seam open...

and turn right side out. Line up the raw edges by folding the cowl in half.

Sew the shoulder seams of your dress bodice and iron them open.

Now you are ready to sew your collar onto your dress. Place the collar over the top of the right side of the dress bodice with the raw edges facing up. Line up the pointed seam with the middle of the back neck and the center marks with the center front. Pin the collar on all the way around the neck opening easing if needed.

In this picture, the cowl is sewn on. The seam edge is towards the inside of the dress like you sewed a very wide binding to the neckline. 😀 Iron the seam towards the collar.

Finished cowl. Now you can continue with the rest of your dress! Enjoy!

Below are some pictures with the dress on. I'm really happy with how it turned out!