Friday 2 August 2013

DIY Tapestry Collar


So I've had this plain sleeveless shirt lying around for over a year and I've only worn it a handful of times (Story of my life). I wanted to spruce it up a little in an attempt for it to showcase itself outside of that of my cluttered wardrobe! Knowing that I wanted to do something with the collar so that the shirt would be more interesting with or without a jumper; I got my creative juices flowing and thought the best option would be to embroider a pattern on the collar.

I've seen embroidered/tapestry/cross-stitch garments hit the high street here and there in varying styles. My favourites taking influences from Japanese floral patterens and 19th century tapestries. Here are a few pieces that coincide with this DIY post;



I didn't want to directly copy any of these prints so I went in search of patterns that would flow well with the collar shape. Recently, I took a trip to London with my best friend where we visited the Saatchi and V&A in addition to mandatory shopping. In the V&A there were gorgeous Turkish tiles and ceramics which really inspired me so I thought these would be perfect for this little DIY project.

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I collected a few images of Turkish floral designs and sketched the design that I wanted on the collar. I love the collar schemes on these Turkish tiles and the intricacy of their repeating patterns.


Here's my easy step by step guide of how to make your own DIY embroidered Collar. I must admit this was quite time consuming to make but I just did 15 minutes here and there at night with the telly on in the background!
  1. Find an old shirt or buy a cheap one from Primark or eBay.
  2. Trace the basic shape of your collar and sketch your design.
  3. Pick some embroidery threads from a Hobbycraft, market or fabric shop. I was lucky my mum has a lot of embroidery threads! 
  4. Sketch in pencil the basic shapes of your design onto the collar itself.
  5. Grab a needle and you're ready to go. I recommend that you divide the embroidery thread up; they're usually made up of 6 smaller threads so I divided them up into 3 lots of 2 threads so it was less bulky and easier to achieve more detailed shapes.
  6. I sewed one colour at a time as I thought this was easier but it doesn't really matter. I also tried to make sure most of the stitches were facing the same direction to get the tapestry effect.
And there you have it, an easy way to liven up an old top. You could even embroider necklines of old tops not necessarily a collar, I might even embroider the pocket on this top to match if I find the time.


Although I think I could've taken more care when sewing the pattern and that it could be a lot neater I think I will wear this shirt far more than I have done, particularly in AW! Hope you enjoyed this post and let me know if you decide to make your own embroidered creations!


x

24 comments:

  1. What a great way to liven up a plain shirt! I have far too many of these lying around. Fab idea x

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  2. Amazing collar!
    Great blog and I follow you via GFC. Hope you follow me back, it would be fantastic;)

    Love
    Minnja

    www.minnja.de
    Minnja on Facebook

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  3. That's amazing! I wish I could embroider like that. :) Thanks for the follow and I wanted to let you know I'm following back! xo

    louboutinsandlove.blogspot.com

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  4. Embroidery! I'm having to do this for my summer art project on medieval England and such ^-^ The shirt looks absolutely gorgeous and original! You should start a factory line and roll these out! Another great DIY post and another great idea to try out :) Super work! x

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  5. Wow, this is so cool! How clever of you and so original, I love it! I definitely want to try this out! Unfortunately I'm not that good in sketching designs, without even mentioning sketching it twice, mirrored.
    You are so talented, really beautiful creation!

    Sofie x
    http://littlegreensofie.blogspot.be/

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  6. i follow you and i wait you on my blog :*

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  7. I've nominated you for a Liebster blog award xx Details on my post here xxx
    http://whatlizzyloves.blogspot.co.uk/2013/08/a-blog-award-nomination-and-two-pairs.html

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  8. This turned out really well! Your sketches are also beautiful, I do love a bit of D.I.Y!

    Rose xo

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  9. Oh wow! This is amazing hahah I think this is too complicated for me though. I would probably end up poking myself with the needle. I just started a fashion blog recently and would love for you to check it out. Follow for a follow on GFC and bloglovin? I'll follow back! x

    choosfashion.blogspot.com

    http://www.bloglovin.com/blog/9066911

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  10. Pretty... I must learn how to embroider soon!

    http://beautyfollower.blogspot.gr/

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  11. This looks amazing! Can't believe you did it yourself, you are clearly way more talented with a needle and thread than I am :) xx

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    1. Thank you, it's not as hard as it looks haha!xx

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  12. This is amazing! I don't have the steadiest hands otherwise I'd definitely try this out myself! It's fantastic though, you have such a talent! :-)

    Rachael @ aisforayla.blogspot.com

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    1. It's definitely not as hard as it looks, thank you!x

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  13. This is such a lovely & innovative idea :)
    I used to do sewing and DIY's all the time, you've inspired me to start doing them again :)
    http://bethanyxalice.blogspot.com, take a sneeky peek at my blog! x

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    1. Thank you! You definitely should; I need to get into the habit, this is the first I've been creative in a while! Popping over to your blog now x

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  14. That collar looks so cute with that top and necklace!so cool!...thanks for that lovely comment chick!i appreciate your comments so much and love your blog!its so good!your posts are so original and you are crazy talented when it comes to fashion and design!...and your tartan nails look awesome!mine won't be better!:-)xxx

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    1. You're so sweet Stef thanks so much! I really appreciate your comments as well love:) xx

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  15. that was so helpful! thank you so much for sharing, i might even try it out soon ;)

    amsaima.blogspot.com
    follow my blog dear, i update quite alot (blogging world is fun isn't it). i'd be really grateful.. <3 x

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