Here is a simple embroidered collar tutorial that has a lot of potential for creativity. I based these simple collars off of a couple originals in my collection and some illustrations in my
Der Goldene Schnitt books . These are simple triangles that go on either side of a V neckline like found in the shirtwaist dress. For mine, I have 3 examples: a plain one and two in embroidery. Embroidery is a great way to make more unique an item for little money.
To start, you will need some white cotton and optional embroidery floss along with basic sewing supplies such as sewing thread, scissors, and an embroidery hoop if you choose to do the embroidery - it will be very helpful. I would recommend cotton that has a nice hand to it - not too stiff and not too loose that it will fray horribly as you work it. I used a plain white cotton, a very high grade quilters cotton actually and had pretty good luck with it. Since you do not need a whole lot of material, less than a 1/4 yard, I think this is a project where the best you can buy will not break the bank.
For mine, I cut 2 squares each 11.5 inches square of my white cotton. Your could be larger or smaller. For the plain collar, fold the square diagonally, sew leaving a small section for turning inside out, turn, then finish and done! Make 2, one for each side.
Super simple!! To apply to the garment, tuck into the neckline and pin or sew in place.
To make mine more personalized, I embroidered my initials on 2 of them and for one I stitched a floral wreath.
For my embroidery, I used 3 main stitches: back stitch, satin stitch, and a chain stitch. I would recommend an embroidery handbook if you intend to pick up embroidery as a hobby, it's a worthy investment filled with insight. You can also look online for videos on how to execute these stitches. I'm not too good at videos otherwise I would have some one here. With that said, there are a lot of ways to learn these simple stiches. I learned with a book, an antique book that I found to be invaluable.
As a whole, my designs started off in pencil as I traced the letters from a book of mine and was inspired by the little flowers to make up my own. Once I had the design penciled in, I did the skinny lettering part and any skinny lines with a
back stitch. For the thicker parts, a
satin stitch. Once I had the sketching done, I set my fabric into an embroidery hoop and got to work. Below, some of the original illustrations from my book that helped me:
For the thicker parts, I do outline my design with a small running stitch, then finish it off with the larger stitching, the satin stitching. The running stitch outline helps keep my work looking more contained and neat. below you can see some of my process:
Above you can see my pencil sketch, the running stitch outline and then my satin stitching.
My leaves are done here and I am working on the flowers I started with pencil, then a running stitch, and then I go to work starting from the edge of my work and then making stitched towards the center which I worked a little French knot. You can see I did not go all the way to the center, that was because I wanted to add another pink in the middle. You can see my finished flower below:
Embroidery for your collars can be as simple or as complex as you want. It is really up to you. Better yet, these collars add a nice personalized touch to simple outfits:
