Collars and embellished collars have been making their rounds on the internet and blogs for the past couple of years now. I think we can point our fingers at Miu Miu and their pretty kitty & swallow collars for starting the trend. But because I thought I saw so many refashioned collars and collar necklaces floating around, I purposely did not do a DIY for one. You know I don’t like to be a copycat. Apparently however, a Look 4 Less reader was on the hunt for a DIY embellished collar and couldn’t find any that suited her. So I offered a hand and thought I’d give it my own spin using faux pearls, vintage rhinestone earrings & buttons, as well as vintage aurora borealis beads from an old broken necklace {as I did for my encrusted V-neck DIY}. Rather than cluttering up the entire collar though, I created a pretty visual pattern that begins on one side and ends on the other.
*NOTE* Once embellished, your shirt will have to be dry-cleaned or carefully hand-washed and hung dry. It’s the price you pay for fashion OR you can also choose to remove your collar entirely from the rest of the blouse and wear it as a necklace of sorts, pairing it with any outfit you like.
Here’s What You’ll Need…
* A blouse with a nice collar. Mine is blush/pink that I found at a thrift shop, with a nice sturdy collar that will keep its shape even with the weight of the embellishments. You can see me wearing it here in 2010 with under the collar necklaces.
* Faux pearls in 2-3 sizes. I also used a craft strand to save a little time. Rhinestone buttons, beads, earrings… whatever you like really, that you can hand-stitch on.
* Needle/Thread/Scissors
Steps…
* First, visually lay out your largest pearls or precious findings. Other than the vintage rhinestone earrings dangling from the ends, I chose not to match the two sides. Carefully hand stitch each into place {but not onto your shirt below}.
* Using medium sized pearls or beads, begin filling in the spaces in between. Then with the smallest beads or pearls, filling in the even smaller spaces.
* Adding large, medium, and small beads, pearls, and rhinestones gives it depth and texture.
* Continue overlapping and filling in the blanks until you have a finished look you are pleased with.
*NOTE* Mine has a “dipped” feeling which I really love… but you may choose to embellish just the tips, just the edges, sporadically overall, or clustered entirely. You can also choose to add chains, studs, sequins, or even just cover your collar in an already-embellished ribbon. It’s up to you 😉
Voila!
Have Fun!
* Find all my DIYs here!
