Detachable collars are THE thing at the moment! And so they should be ~ they're a brilliant idea! Easy to make and requiring little fabric, you can make one to suit any occasion or any personal style. Collars are the perfect on trend wardrobe accessory and I just had to make one for myself! And then I thought, why not print the pattern so you could make one too?!
Detachable collars are not a new notion by any means! I based my design almost exactly from a 1930's pattern that I love, but collars and cuffs have been a way of adapting outfits for decades, even centuries before. Once upon a time, a ladies wardrobe might only consist of a couple of dresses ~ one for everyday, one for Sunday best! So to alter and extend the look of the dress and to create different outfits, detachable collars (and cuffs) in lace, embroidered cottons or even silks would be meticulously and lovingly worked on by hand and then worn with pride.
Look 3, in the centre, was very much the inspiration for the Bess Collar. But how lovely are all of these collars? I would like them all really! I loved the regal look on the illustrated models face and it got me thinking about my favourite Queen, Elizabeth the First, who really knew how to strike a pose in her lace collars and ruffs. So I named my collar after her, Good Queen Bess!
My favourite painting of Elizabeth 1st {The Rainbow portrait by Isaac Oliver ~ 1600} because why wear 1 ruff collar when you can wear 3? Also the pearls, the eyes and the serpent!
The Bess Collar comes with a full size printed paper pattern and a fully illustrated step by step sewing guide and, as always with my patterns, lots of tips and tricks and useful information to help you on your sewing adventure!
I've made the Bess collar out of cotton lawn, poplin and out of lace and silk from my wedding dress samples and there's so much scope for some really creative versions ~ and it's the perfect project for confident beginners! There will be detailed sewalongs on both my IGTV and YouTube channels so do check them out if you want to sewalong with me. I LOVE sewing this collar and I really hope you will too!
The Bess Collar will be available to buy from Thursday 25th of March but if you'd like to pre~order a copy, then drop me an email at hello@taradeighton.co.uk and I'll reserve one for you, hot off the press!
I'm so excited about this pattern and can't wait to see it out in the wild! I hope you're enjoying some sunshine and some sewing this week!
Love, Tara x