My Little Project: The Andrea Collar Thing
So, I was putting together an outfit the other day, right? Had this top that needed… something. A little extra flair around the neck. I remembered seeing this style, kind of a detachable collar, folks were calling it the ‘Andrea collar’ online, I think. The tricky part was I needed it in a specific nude shade to match my skin tone and not clash with the top.
First thing, I looked everywhere online. Like, seriously everywhere. Found similar styles, sure, but not quite the right shape or the exact nude color I had in my head. Most were too pink, too beige, or just looked cheap. Frustrating. After wasting a good hour clicking around, I thought, “You know what? How hard can it be? I’ll just make the darn thing.” I’ve done a bit of sewing before, nothing fancy, but enough to tackle a collar.
Getting Started with the DIY
Okay, step one: figure out the shape. I basically sketched out what I remembered. It was a simple Peter Pan style, but maybe a bit pointier? Hard to recall exactly. I grabbed some paper and folded it, drew half the collar shape along the fold, and cut it out. Unfolded it looked… okay. Good enough for a start.
Next up: fabric hunting. This was the real challenge. Finding that perfect nude fabric. Went down to the local craft store. Man, they have like fifty shades of beige, tan, cream… but that specific neutral nude? Took ages. Finally found a cotton blend remnant that was pretty close. Not perfect, but close enough that I thought it wouldn’t look weird. Also grabbed some medium-weight interfacing – you definitely need that, or the collar will just flop around sadly.
Putting It All Together
Back home, I laid out the fabric. Ironed it flat first. Always iron your fabric, folks, makes cutting way easier. Pinned my paper pattern onto the fabric (doubled over, so I cut two identical pieces at once) and also onto the interfacing. Cut carefully. My scissors are okay, but cutting smooth curves is still a pain.
- Pinned the two collar pieces right sides together.
- Pinned the interfacing to the piece that would be the ‘underside’.
- Stitched around the outer edge, leaving the neck edge open. Remembered to leave a small gap for turning it right side out later, almost forgot that bit!
- Trimmed the seam allowance, especially around the curves, clipping little notches so it would lie flat.
- Turned the whole thing right side out through the gap I left. Used a chopstick to gently poke out the points and curves. This part always feels like magic.
- Ironed it flat again, making sure the edges were crisp. This took some patience.
- Topstitched close to the edge for a cleaner look and to keep everything in place.
- Finally, hand-stitched the turning gap closed.
For fastening, I just added a simple hook and eye closure at the back. Didn’t want visible buttons. Quick and easy.
The Result?
So, how did it turn out? Honestly? Pretty decent! It wasn’t high fashion couture or anything, but it looked like a proper collar. The nude color was acceptable, maybe a tiny bit darker than ideal, but it worked well enough under the top I had planned. It sat nicely, didn’t flop, and gave that little extra touch I wanted. Took me maybe two hours, start to finish, mostly because I was slow and careful with the cutting and ironing. Was it worth it? Yeah, I think so. Got exactly what I needed, even if it wasn’t store-bought perfect. Plus, that feeling of making something yourself is always kinda cool.
