Shirt collars: to fuse or not to fuse?

[Ligament]

Hi all,

New member here. Love this place.

I just place an order for 4 custom shirts, and am undecided about whether I should have the collars fused.

I dry clean, never wash/iron at home. I hate starch on my shirts.

I would like some ease in the way my collars move but do not want them to be floppy. I definately do not want a rock hard collar.

Any suggestions? Thanks.

 

[banksmiranda]

You could have them use a lightweight/medium-weight fusible.

 

[WDNYC]

Dumb question - but when discussing suits and shirts, what is meant by fused?

 

[Shirtmaven]

Fusing is not a dirty word. It is just the process of glueing the interlining to the top layer of fabric using pressure and heat.

Back in the dark ages. Factories starting Fusing coat fronts. Poor fusings and nasty dry cleaners would result in coat fronts that would bubble. The fusing came away from the fabric.

Today, Fusing is a Science. Bubbleing  will very rarely occur.

The reason to fuse collars in shirts is that a less talented collar maker can still turn out a good looking collar.
also you will not get the creases at the stitch line if the collar is poorly pressed. It is easier to press a fused collar as Ernest will testify to.

You can also get that realistic Rock hard collar that the Italians love so much. I still do not understand why MAny hand made Italian shirts have stiffly fused collars.

Disadvantages of Fusing. Oils and dirt from the skin will sometimes adhere to the glue leaving a discoloration. The glue will sometimes come though if the laundry is using too much heat in the pressing process.
Fused collars have a tendency to shrink more then non-fused collars. Cuffs are even worse. I rarely fuse cuffs for my customers

You can vary the weight or stiffness of the collar by combining different fusables.

I prefer a non fused collar. I think it just feels better.
Non fused collars can be made heavier by patch fusing a small piece of fusing to the non fused lining.

Any other questions?

Ligament, When you take your shirts to the Dry cleaner they are washing and pressing your shirts. They are not Dry cleaning them. Dry claning is not a great proces for Cotton shirts.

About 75% of my customers get fused collars

Carl G

 

[Ligament]

Shirtmaven, thanks for the reply, and educating me on shirt washing vs. dry cleaning.

best, Ligament

 

[BGW]

Great post. Can we get a description of the phycal structure of a fused/non-fused shirt collar? How many layers are there?

 

[sirgarnetwolseley]

I prefer a non-fused collar with a soft interlining for my dress shirts. I think if the non-fused collar is properly made, it is no harder to press than a fused one, but will take a little more time. I wash and press my shirts at home. Unless I am overwhelmed by like, 18 unwashed shirts at which point I reluctantly take them to the dry-cleaners to be laundered.

 

[Ligament]

ttt

 

[sirgarnetwolseley]

ttt: wha?

 

[marc37]

Do fused suit makers always fuse their shirt collars as well? Eg, are Amani shirts fused: some of my collars are really difficult to iron.

l reckon fusing is a dirty word. Gluing any clothing is poor craftsmanship.

 

[jcusey]

l reckon fusing is a dirty word. Gluing any clothing is poor craftsmanship.

Yup. Borrelli and Kiton, both pure crap.

 

[marc37]

What parts of the Borrelli suit are fused? Sorry, l never thought Borrelli suits were fused.

 

[jcusey]

What parts of the Borrelli suit are fused? Sorry, l never thought Borrelli suits were fused.

The shirts, not the suits.

 

[Shirtmaven]

You darn purists.

I don't get it. It is OK to fuse the collar on a $300 shirt but you can't use a fusable on on $3000.00 suit.

Well,OK. For $3000 I want a hand made suit too.

The science of fusing has allowed Factories to tailor garments out of high count 7oz. wool. Without the fuasables most mid priced suits($600-1000) would look awful after a couple of dry cleanings.

For those of you who haven't bothered to cut open a shirt before throwing it away.

A shirt collar has a cotton woven interlining sandwiched between the outside layers of shirt fabric. There is also a small peice of shirt fabric on the underside that is used to create the stay pocket.

The linings come in many different levels of thickness to get the desired stiffness in the collar.

A fusing in a shirt is also a woven cotton with a layer of glue on one side. The fusable and one layer of fabric are placed together. Placed into a machine that then applies heat to melt the glue and pressure to keep it together. Once the glue dries the collar is then sewn together.

Several layers of fusing can be fused at the same time to increase the stiffness of the collar. They are usually cut on the bias and placed in opposite directions. This is done to reduce shrinkage when the shirt is washed.

 

[tlfurbay]

I am a tailor who makes shirts regularly. If you have no fusing the collar will not press well at the dry cleaners.