FINISHED FINAL PIECE

Here is my finished beaded collar with ribbon fastening. I used a black felt fabric for the underside of the collar, to give the collar some stiffness and help keep the shape and a sheer mulberry coloured organza type fabric for the top layer. I felt this top fabric was perfect for the collar as it is glamorous and luxurious. I have then added a diamond shaped pattern to the collar with 3 different types of beads. I think the pattern definitely looks very 1920's and art deco inspired with the repeating effect and geometric shapes and lines. The collar ties and unties at the back with a ribbon, which further adds to the  delicate and feminine style of the collar. 

I have included various photos below showcasing all the features of the collar with close up shots to show of the detailing and beadwork and both front and back views of the piece. I also included a photo of how the piece would look on top of a garment, and would add sophistication and glamour to any outfit. 

MAKING MY FINAL PIECE

When making my final piece, I took photos to keep track of my progress and the steps I took. 

Here I used a t-shirt that I own with a neck the size i wanted the collar to fit and traced the size and shape from the centre of the front neckline to the centre of the back neckline with the garment folded half-ways vertically. 

 Using the line I traced from the neck of the T-shirt, I then drew a parallel line 7cm down from this and joined up the two curving lines with two shorter straight lines which would be the edge of the collar

 This next step shows the pattern piece for the collar with added seam allowance 

 I then cut out the pattern piece, pinned it to a double piece of the backing felt fabric and cut carefully around the fabric. I did the same process with my mulberry coloured fabric, taking extra care when cutting as the fabric slips easily and is therefore hard to cut accurately. 

 I then paired one piece of black fabric with one of the sheer fabric pieces, pinned together and then machine stitched around 1.5cm from the edge. I repeated this process with the other two pieces. 

 Here, as you can see from the top piece, I trimmed the edge quite close to the seam. This was so that, when I turned the piece the right way round, the seam wouldnt be too bulky. I then turned the pieces inside out.

 Next I stitched the front of the collar together using black thread and only through one layer of the felt so the stitching wouldn't be seen on the right side of the collar. 

  The next step was to start embellishing the collar. I added three different types of beads in a sequence, keeping the pattern fairly simple with diamonds and lines, but also still referencing the art deco 1920s theme. 

Finally I stitched the ribbon into the back where the collar would be tied and untied to take on and off

FINAL PRODUCT DESIGNS

I decided, after looking at all the images and researched I have gathered, that I wanted to design and make an accessory rather than a full garment. This is for two reasons, partly because accessories were very important in the twenties, most of the key pieces of the time were accessories. Secondly, because, as the era was all about glitz and glamour I decided I wanted to do an embellished piece. This, on a full garment would have been too much for the time constraints. So I decided to go for an embellished accessory, and chose to make a collar.

After I decided on making a collar, I started sketching some ideas down for possible shapes, details, patterns and embellishments that the colour could have.

 I chose this design to produce as I thought it would look effective with beads, not too over the top.