How to Crease a Collar

Collar buttons position and hold a crease properly.

A loose, shapeless collar detracts from the polished appearance that you're trying to achieve by wearing the shirt in the first place. An uncreased collar is akin to a wrinkled tuxedo -- both garments make you look sloppy when they should make you look well-dressed. Several techniques allow you to make and maintain a perfect crease. If you set the crease into the fabric effectively, you can rest assured that the collar won't degenerate into a shapeless mess throughout the day.

Things You'll Need

• Iron
• Spray starch
• Hair flat iron
• Paper clips
• Buttonhole maker
• Needle and thread, or sewing machine
• Fabric pencil
• 3 buttons (about 1/4-inch wide)

Instructions

1. Make a crease in the wet collar of a shirt that you just washed. The edge of a folded collar should match up with the stitching at the base of the collar. Lay the shirt on a flat surface. Smooth the collar. Place a heavy object, such as a can of soup, on top of the collar to hold it in place if it begins to curl. Allow the shirt to air-dry thoroughly.

2. Iron the unfolded collar of a dry shirt to remove any wrinkles. Turn the shirt over to iron both sides of the collar. Spray starch on the fabric to stiffen it as you iron. Fold the collar so that the edge aligns with the base. Iron over the crease to set it into the fabric. Place a weighted object on the collar to hold it while the fabric cools.

3. Clamp a hair flat iron over the crease in a collar to set it if you're in a hurry and don't have time for a traditional iron. It's not as effective as ironing the collar thoroughly, but it's a quick fix if you have no other heated options.

4. Slide a large paper clip over each end of a folded collar to hold it in place after you set it. Changes in moisture and temperature cause the collar to curl or loose shape. The paper clips ensure that the crisp creases that you made in the shirt remain set in the cloth.

5. Keep the collar buttoned when you wear or store the shirt. Manufacturers add these buttons to crease the collar in the appropriate position and hold it in place.

6. Add buttons to the collar if they don't have any. Make three 1/4-inch cuts in the collar with a buttonhole maker: one diagonal cut at each pointed end of the collar and one horizontal cut in the back, center of the collar. Position the cuts just above the seams at the edge of the collar. Stitch around the edges of each buttonhole by hand with a needle and thread or a sewing machine. Fold the collar to make a crease. Insert a fabric pencil through the buttonholes to match the positions where they meet the shirt. Stitch a 1/4-inch diameter button onto each marked spot.

Tips & Warnings

• Look at the iron's plate to make sure that it's clean before you use it on your shirt.

• Buttonhole makers are small, pen-shaped tools that punch a clean line through fabric.