I
feel like lately it's harder and harder finding things to be grateful
for when you hit that midway-through-winter stride here in the midwest.
Actually, I'm not big on winter in general (I
hate being
cold) but I always try and focus on two things that I do look forward to
when the temperature drops: cool coats and pretty boots. Coats and
jackets can be so much fun to shop for, but sometimes a coat needs a
little bit of something to make it an extra-special piece—that's where a
detachable fur collar comes in!
Supplies: Coat, faux fur, white cotton fabric, elastic (1/8" wide), buttons, fabric scissors.
1.
Start with a coat that has simple symmetrical collar (put it on a dress
form if you can find one, it will help a lot!) 2. To make your pattern,
lay a piece of white cotton fabric over your coat. Smooth and pin the
fabric on the back neck area of the coat. Starting at the back, continue
to smooth the fabric towards the front and pin the loosely to the
collar as you go. You should have a bunch of extra fabric in the open
space between the collar when you're done. 3. On the inside of the
jacket, pin the fabric to the inside about an inch from the collar edge.
Trim down the extra on the sides and in the middle between the collar
so you can better start to choose you fur collar shape. 4. Trim the
fabric on the inside of the coat to just beyond your marked pins.
Continue to mark with pins how wide you want your collar to be on the
outside and trim your pattern down to that size. I did end up pinning
two darts in my pattern on the back of the coat collar (each about two
inches from the center of the neck). This helped the round the pattern a
little more where needed. You can see that I made my fur collar pattern
bigger and a different shape from the original collar. You can really
make it any size and shape as long as it covers the collar underneath.
5. Remove your collar pattern and face it upside down onto the back of
your fur. Trace the pattern with a marker. 6. Use fabric scissors to cut
out your pattern. When cutting fur-like material, you want to keep your
scissor's edge as close to the base of the furry side of the material
as possible. This helps you to cut the base fabric rather than the long
fur hairs. Make small cuts and slide your scissor blade along the bottom
of the fabric as you go. 7. Once your fur collar is cut, make small
loops with your elastic and attach them to the inside curve of your
collar every four inches or so (facing out past the edge of the collar).
You want the loops to be big enough to go over your button size, but
small enough that they won't come off by themselves. 8. Pin the fur
collar in place and sew a button at each spot on the inside of the coat
where an elastic loop hits the coat. Once the buttons are sewn in,
attach the loops to the buttons and you're done!
I
think this collar was just what this coat needed to gain a little
"ommph." And, the great thing is, you can leave it on or take it off
depending on what outfit you're wearing or what mood you're in. Or, you
can always make several different collars, and it would look like you're
wearing a new coat everytime! Think your current coat is too boring and
should be pitched?
FUR-get about it, make yourself a detachable collar for a coat makeover instead!
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