DIY Peter Pan Collar

Peter Pan collars are everywhere this season. They look super-cute peeking out over sweaters, dazzling over dresses, and offering a cheeky sparkle over a low v-neck. However, not all of us can afford a Louis Vuitton collar peeking out from our tops. Even if you don’t sew and don’t have a craft studio, you can easily make a versatile Peter Pan collar necklace that you can pair with any or every outfit in your closet.

You’ll Need:

• A piece of felt in your chosen color
• One yard of ribbon in a color that matches your felt
• Scissors
• Hole punch
• Paper and a marker (to make a pattern)
• A needle and thread

1. Make a pattern in the shape you want your collar. It could be rounded like most of the hip detachable collar, more triangular, or scalloped. If you’re having trouble creating the perfect template, try tracing out a collar you like from another clothing item or find a pattern online (Honestly WTF has one available here.
2. Using the pattern, cut out two pieces of felt in the collar shape.
3. Make a hole at the outer corner of each felt piece with the hole punch.
4. Attach the inner corners to each other with a few stitches with the needle and thread (even if you don’t sew, you can do this. I believe in you!). You can hide the stitches with a cute button if you’d like (and if your sewing skills are up to attaching a button).
5. Cut the ribbon into two pieces and push one piece through each of the holes you punched earlier. You can secure the ribbon by folding it over and tying it, sewing it together with a few stitches, or even applying a dab of glue.                              

You’re done!

You can customize your collar in many ways. If you want one of those bejeweled collars seen on the runway, grab a bag of
gems at your local craft store and use a hot glue gun to arrange them randomly on your collar.

Loft in Soho has a tutorial on how to add strings of pearls to your felt collar. Simply find a couple of strings of faux pearls, apply hot glue to your collar, and carefully apply the string on the collar until the whole thing is covered (Loft in Soho has plenty of photos to explain exactly how to apply the pearls here).

If you choose a scalloped edge, you may want to punch a hole in each scalloped half-circle. This will give you a pretty close knock-off of the Louis Vuitton version.

If you’re more skilled with sewing, you can sew a more complex collar using your fabric of choice, some interface, and a backing material.

Instead of the ribbon fastener, you could add a chain and clasp to the back. Of course, this takes a little bit of jewelry-making know-how (or at least a Google search) and a pair of tiny pliers.

If you don’t want any sort of back closure, make a pattern that is connected all the way around the back. You can either add a button and loop closure at the front or buy hook closures (like the ones on a bra) at your local fabric store and attach one piece to each side on the underside of the front inner corners.

Since making Peter Pan collars is so easy and inexpensive (you can buy a 9-inch by 12-inch sheet of felt for under 50 cents), you’ll be able to wear a new collar every day.