I'm looking to make a cowl neck tee but am a bit confused as to what to do with the "stay." Have any of you made this tee and is there anything you would change after the fact? Thanks so much.

The stay is kind of like a facing or lining from the front. It keeps the cowl in place.

My suggestion is to test this first. I haven't worked with it for quite a while, but found it to be somewhat of a challenge.

After choosing the cowl neck, go to the Neck tool and click on "Tell me More" (at the top, above the model). There you will find help on this neckline and the stay.

I recently made the cowl neck top, using the fitted shirt pattern (sans darts). Since I wanted a full front stay, I cut out the fitted shirt pattern front (no darts again), adjusting the neck line (used the original stay pattern as a guide). This worked great except for the fact that the full front stay was made out of the same knit fabric as the cowl front--too stretchy. I should have used a more stable knit fabric for the stay as suggested by Kaaren. I corrected this by gathering the stay neckline, making it smaller. All in all, it looks very good.

Another member of the Northern Virginia users group made a cowl neck top using the standard stay pattern and found it too short--was visible just under the bust line and tended to "ride up". A full front stay eliminates that problem while giving the fashion fabric support.

It's a very nice look. Enjoy.

Brenda M. Côté
Dress Shop Everything

Thanks Carolyn and Brenda. I did sit and stare at the pattern long enough to see what I needed to do, but glad to have it confirmed. Brenda I appreciate the heads up on the full front facing. I can see how the stay could show or ride up. Also thanks fo the tip about using a more stable knit for the facing. makes sense.

Now, a question. When I accessed the cowl tool and then the "tell me more" it mentioned at the end of the article to go to Sewing Tips to see how the cowl was sewn. I cannot find that anywhere. Any clues? Thanks.

Go to Help | Help Index | How to Assemble Patterns. Scroll down and you will find the article.