Tutorial Tuesday

Happy Tuesday, everyone!

I can't believe this time of year is already upon us! I have my mind set on New Year's Eve. It's one of my most favorite nights of the year. Everyone is so excited for the possibilities the new year might bring and there always seems to be glitter and sparkly things all around. I like to add glittery accessories to my outfit in order to join in on the celebration. I have been noticing that people are wearing collar chains, and thought it would be a great New Year's Eve accessory to add some sparkle to the evening.

I used the diamond pattern from last year's tutorial for embroidered cocktail rings, which is still available for you here. In order to fill in the diamonds, I used DMC metallic floss in blue sapphire, which is available here.

Do make your own embroidered collar chain, you'll need:
- Embroidery hoop, floss, needle
- 1/4 yard of muslin (I didn't use the whole 1/4 yard, there was fabric left over)
- 2 small safety pins
- 5-inches of jewelry chain (you can shorten or lengthen as you prefer)
- Pliers
- Embroidery and fabric scissors

Step One: Transfer pattern to fabric and stitch using 3-strands of black floss, or a solid color of your choosing.

Step Two: Using a satin stitch and metallic floss, fill in the center areas of the diamond. I used 6-strands of floss for this portion. 

Step Three: Once both diamonds are complete, cut them out of the fabric leaving about 1/2 an inch of fabric around the embroidery. Put a blank piece of fabric in your embroidery hoop, and attach the cut embroidered piece to the blank fabric by stitching closely around the outer edge of the diamond. Once stitched, take the fabric out of the hoop, and trim around the outer edge, making sure not to clip your stitches. Repeat for second diamond. 

Step Four: Take the safety pins and attach one to the back of each diamond. Make sure to attach it to the fabric backing, and not catch the embroidery stitches. 

Step Five: Using the pliers, open one link of the chain and thread it through the end of the safety pin. Repeat for second diamond. 

Step Six: Attach a diamond to each corner of your collar, and you are ready to go! This also works to hold cardigans, if you like to wear them over your shoulders without putting your arms through the sleeves. 

 Hope you enjoy and have a very happy holiday season!