DIY adding pretty vintage collars to your clothing

I’m a big fan of ladylike fashion and, in particular, collars on clothing. I love a peter-pan collar on a dress and I’ve recently been scouring my local charity shops to find tops and blouses with collar trims. I recently picked up this black Laura Ashley cardigan from Oxfam and I’ve used it as inspiration for my DIY blog post for adding pretty lace collars to your knitwear. I had a tatty old cream cardigan hanging at the back of my wardrobe that I simply never wore (it’s actually got a hole in the shoulder – you can just about spot it in this photo!) and I decided to customise it by adding a collar around the neckline and either side of the buttons. You can pick up a cardigan to customise from the Oxfam Online Shop or in your local charity shop.

You will need: A cardigan or blouse, lace trim, fabric doily or haberdashery collar, pins, matching thread, needle or sewing machine

1. I got this piece of embellished collar from Wholeport online shop, but you can use any lace or embroidered trim that you find – or even a fabric doily or the edge of a net curtain. I cut it in half to fit either side of the button seam, and pinned one half to the cardigan.
2. I used my sewing machine to stitch the lace along the edge of the cardi, but you could hand-stitch it or even use fabric glue to stick it in place. I then stitched around the outer-edge of the lace trim to keep it flat.

1. Do up the buttons on the cardigan and position the second half to match up with the one you have already stitched. Pin in place and repeat the sewing process to secure it in position.

I hope you’ll agree that it looks much nicer and by just adding a collar I’ve turned a cardigan that I have never worn into something that I don’t want to take off! And don’t to forget to add pretty collars to anything else that takes your fancy – maybe the neckline of a t-shirt or around the top of a dress? And little lace collars can look super-cute on children’s clothing, so think about adding a collar trim to your little ‘un’s clothing too!

I’ve started volunteering for Oxfam Fashion and this was my second DIY blog post for them – check out the Oxfam fashion blog here for more amazing  DIY projects and bargain clothing ideas!

Related DIY articles from Cassiefairy:

• DIY fashion ~ No-sew pocket t-shirt for summer (cassiefairy.com)
• Button up! Upcycling vintage buttons into jewellery (cassiefairy.com)
• Padded letters craft project (cassiefairy.com)
• One of my absolute favourite things to make (cassiefairy.com)
• Making a skirt from vintage patterns (cassiefairy.com)