Making a Peter Pan Collar- Step by Step guide!

 Peter Pan collars have been a big trend for this season, on shirts, dresses and blouses, but also a separate accessory that can be added to any outfit. I love this look, and  nearly every High Street brand has been selling them, pearl ones, lace ones and embellished ones, and prices around £15-20.

So, in the effort to one be creative and two save some penny's, I decided to have a go at making my own. This post is my step by step guide to making your own collar, and hopefully you will have as much fun as I did! 

 

*I need to point out up front that I am no expert in textiles, sewing or crafting, I just love creating things and having one off pieces that are unique, so if some of these techniques are a bit "different" I apologies, they were just the easiest steps for me! *

First step is to buy the material that you are going to use, I went to a local fabric shop, (there will definitely be one near you, google if you are not sure) and picked out a metallic leather, it is best to chose a material that will hold it's shape around the neck. 

Then it is fun bit of picking all the beads, lace and buttons you want to add to the collar, I am like a kid in a candy store in the Bead Shop, so for me this was probably the longest part of the whole process! In the end I went for quite neutral, metallic colours, so I could wear the collar with lots of different looks, but you can go for what ever styles you want, that's the beauty of it! 

You don't need to spend a lot my total costs were £5.95 for it all, so a real bargain!

Once you have these you are ready to start and below is the full breakdown of what you will need!

The material and beads/lace, A pencil, ruler, fabric scissors, fabric glue, needle and thread

Step 1- Get a shirt from your wardrobe and lay it out on the  Material. 

Draw a line with the pencil around the edge of the collar on to the Material to give you a template to cut around. 

Then cut along the line to give you your basic shape. 

Step 2- Once you have a basic shape, you need to create a curve to sit around your neck. 

Draw a line just about halfway across the material and bring it down at each side. 

Then cut along this line and you will have a shape that is curved and pointed at each end.

Step 3- The next step is to create a shape that will sit in your neck, the easiest way to do this is to use the ruler at the middle point of the collar and draw a triangle. 

Cut along this line and you will have the completed shape. ( it is best to check at this point that the collar fits around your neck and that meets at the middle in front of your neck)

Step 4- Attach fasteners at the front of the collar, to keep it in place around your neck, I stitched these on. 

Then I covered the fastener with one of the beads,(to make it look better) again, I just stitched this with a needle and thread.

Step 5- This is the fun bit! You can start creating the look of your collar, by using the fabric glue to stick on each bead/ button, you do have to be quite patient, however and let each bead dry for a few minutes before sticking on the next. Once you have stuck down one side, mirror the same pattern on the other side. 

Step 6- This is last step, take the lace for the edge of the collar and measure down each side. Cut the lace to fit the collar and then with the fabric glue stick down (carefully) along each side. 

Then leave it all to dry over night and you are ready to wear with whatever styles you choose! 

I hope these steps make sense and you can follow my idiots guide, which believe me it is! If I can make this then anyone can! I love creating and making things, especially jewelry, so if you like this post, I will try and write up a few more how to guides! 

Let me know how you get on with your collars and good luck! I am loving wearing mine, and it is great when someone asks you where is your collar from and you can say "me!". 

Hope you have all had fab weekends, even though the weather has been horrible! It is supposed to be getting sunny again next week, so hopefully we will be able to get our spring/ summer wardrobe back out!

More posts, this week, so stay tuned!

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