Top Collar

Give an outfit a new lease of life with Corinne Bradd's striking Peter Pan collar necklace

Corinne Bradd, MJ Designer

This collar necklace is so easy to stitch and will really jazz up an otherwise plain top

If you fancy updating your wardrobe but don't want to splash out on something that everyone else is probably wearing, this folksy Peter Pan collar necklace is for you! A key accessory for this season, the pretty scalloped shape in printed fabric, adorned with bright pearls, sequins and seed beads, will transform a plain top in seconds, particularly when teamed with our matching bangle and earrings.

Necklace

1. Create a symmetrical scalloped template from folded card or download our readymade template from the Tools panel. Trace the shape onto the backing paper of a square of fusible webbing. Iron the webbing onto the reverse of a piece of patterned cotton material and cut around the outline. If using a regular geometric print try and ensure the template sits symmetrically on the fabric. Remove the backing paper and fuse the cotton to a square of matching felt. Tack around the edges for extra security before cutting away the excess felt.
2. Stitch a line of pearlescent sequins and white seed beads around the edges of the collar by bringing the thread up through the hole in the sequin, into a seed bead and back down through the sequin. Allow the sequins to overlap like fish scales to form a continuous line. If desired the seed beads on the inner edge of the bib can be formed into a line by threading extra beads in between each stitched one.
3. Use the print of the cotton material as a guide to stitch individual pearls and bicones onto the main area of the collar. For a more random print, use a ruler and pencil to mark a meshwork of dots on the fabric. Make two 4cm long strings of pearls and bicones to attach to the centre base of the collar. Fold under the raw edge at the top sides of the bib and stitch lengths of co-ordinating grosgrain ribbon to each side.

Bracelet

1. Stitch leftover pieces of fabric into a wide strip, long enough to fit comfortably around a plain bracelet. Sew the short sides into a ring, slip over the bracelet and secure the long edges together with ladder stitch inside the bangle.
2. Stitch sequins and seed beads to the outer curve of the them as for the collar. You should be able to simply pass the needle in and out of the fabric in one movement because of the curved surface of the bangle.

Earrings

1. Thread a head pin with a seed bead, a large pearl and an assortment of smaller pearls, bicones and seed beads to a length of 2.5cm. Trim the end of the head pin to 1cm and use round-nosed pliers to bend it into a loop. Attach to an earwire with a small jump ring. Repeat to make a pair.