Take a close look at the BDU shirt. Notice where the collar is attached to the rest of the shirt.
We will refer to this as "the line of attachment between collar and shirt".
| Step 1: Take a close look at the BDU shirt. Notice where the collar is attached to the rest of the shirt. We will refer to this as "the line of attachment between collar and shirt". |
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| Step 2: Unfold the collar by turning the collar so it stands up. |
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| Step 3: Fold the edge that is highlighted red in the images inwards and down to the line of attachment. |
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| Step 4: Once that edge has been folded down, you can see the material that has been folded forms a triangle. This triangle will need to be tacked down. The degree to which this is tacked down is up to you, but you basically want to make sure the triangle is at the very least held in place securely. Prior to sewing the fabric down, it's recommended to use pins to hold the fabric in place. You may also want to consider ironing the folds which will help the fabric retain it's new shape. When sewing the collar, I'd recommend using an OD green or a dark green thread similar to the green used in the shirt's fabric, to better hide the sewing in the shirt. |
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| Step 5: You will need to repeat this process for the other side. |
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| Step 6: Fold the entire collar in half, inwards. |
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| Step 7: It should look like this on the inside. After it's folded down, it will need to be sewn. Some marines simply tack the shirt down in three or four locations, just enough to hold it in place. I prefer to sew the entire edge down myself, as it makes the collar less prone to curling and holds its shape better. The closer the top edge is folded towards the collar's line of attachment, the shorter the collar will be. In the pics to the right, the edge is just above the attachment line, creating a pretty high collar. On average, most screen used collars were about 1 inch high above the attachment line. |
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What's not shown in these pics is that you're better off measuring the height of the collar's fold from the outside of the shirt and not the inside, afterall it's really the outside of the shirt that people will see. Some generic BDU collars aren't necessarily the same width all the way round prior to tailoring... some collars have longer tips than others! |
| Step 8: The finished collar should look like this on the outside. |
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| Example: Mandarin Collar of a USCM BDU made by Anubian Warrior after following these directions. Note: Camo pattern used in this pic is called Safariflage, and is not regulation standard, but is frequently substituted for the USCM pattern. The woodland pattern used in the above tutorial is also not the common USCM regulation issued BDU pattern. |
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| Professionally
Manufactured USCM BDUs: |
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USCM Supplies
USCM BDU Shirt, supplied by USCM Supplies. Note, these are
professional
reproductions of the screen used BDUs, hence the print and tailoring is
identical to that of the originals. Also note that the collar is
rounded which is identical to the ones in the movie. |
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Men-At-Arms Action Gear Co.
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The Aliens Legacy Prop Forum |
