my suggestion would be to wait until Joann's (or Hancock's, Beverly's, etc.) has their patterns on sale. I'm not sure how it works for other places, but I know Joann's has patterns on sale for $2 like every other week. Then when they do, comb through their pattern books for stuff that looks similar to what you are making. That way you will have actual instructions as to how to make whatever it is you are working on. They won't ever have EXACTLY what you are looking for, but what I always do is find something close then experiment on some cheap/leftover fabric from another project until you figure out how to do it. So far I have not been able to find any patterns with sailor collars, so I think you will just have to play around with that one. Also, whenever possible, save yourself some work. If you can find some blue slacks that will work for your bf at goodwill, use those and make a shirt out of similar-coloured fabric. this may seem like a daunting task, but the more you work, the easier future projects will be.
