Constructing a simple designer-inspired lace collar
I don’t know how many miles NickI travels to find such unique treasures, but at the moment she’s got a lovely range of wide lace trims in both black and ivory, which are ideal for playing around with to achieve a very individual, fashion forward look:
I’ve been experimenting with the 30cm wide ivory lace in the top pic (which also comes in black) to produce some designer-inspired lace collars which are actually very quick and simple to make. Although there are lots of different methods you could use to achieve this look, I’ll run through the way I constructed mine here:
1. Loosely measure your neck circumference – in my case approx. 34cm – and cut a length of lace which is around 3 times this measurement.
2. To finish the raw edges I added some organza ribbon which was attached, folded back to the wrong side and machine stitched in place:
3. Run two rows of gathering stitches along the length of the lace; I chose to do this at the base of the top scallop, which fell at around 7cm from the top edge, but you can play around with this to achieve the effect you prefer.
4. Pull the gathers up to fit your neck circumference comfortably. I then secured the gathers in place by attaching some 1.2cm wide cotton tape on the reverse side of the lace, over the gathering stitches.
5. I secured the edge of the lace together with a press stud, aligned with the tape, but you could also use a hook and eye. Alternatively, you could attach the ribbon for the bow over the gathering stitches, but I wanted to be able to achieve different looks by adding ribbons in different colours – according to mood or outfit!
6. You can play around with the gathering to see what works for you – we also tried running the gathering stitches through the middle of the lace which produced a very different effect, with the lace flopping downwards:
This lace is so versatile, and when your mind starts playing around with designs you’ll see just how many options there are. The finer Chantilly lace would achieve a much softer effect, but as well as lace collars you could add ruffles to a front placket, lace sleeves to a simple top, attached or detachable cuffs…there are just so many possibilities. The laces are all lovely quality and it is so easy to produce a truly unique look. Have a play and let us know how the lace featured here inspires your designs!
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