Fake collar blouse with cat

 

A few years ago, I joined a local clothing loop. For those of you who are not familiar with the concept: enormous bags (often IKEA) with 20 to 30 garments are passed around in a group of women. If you see something you like, you can keep it, and in return you put in a garment of your own. Preferably a garment that is good enough for a second round, not something that is so worn out, you would throw it away yourself (I've noticed that occasionally opinions differ on this...:)). As in everything, tastes differ, but every once in a while you come across a gem! 

That's how I found this blouse / bodysuit. I liked the neckline and collar but unfortunately, the blouse was just a little too small. With a few alterations it would be perfect as a fake colour blouse!

Brown is not really my color, but that was easily fixed with purple Dylan cold dye:).

Next, I used another fake collar to cut out the shape. If you don't have one yourself and would like to make a fake collar out of an old blouse, for the lengt you cut just below your breast and as for the width, make sure your arms can move freely. I added an elastic strap to keep the collar in place under your arms.

Now that the 'practical' part was finished, I wanted to add something creative to the collar tips. So I spent a few days browsing on the internet and came up with.... a cat, cut in half... Well yes, why not;)? The plan was to place the front and back of a patch on each collar tip.

Nail polish to the rescue! (Don't tell your sewing teacher!)

To keep the edges of the patch from fraying, I carefully applied some nail polish on the edges. Worked like a charm!

And this is how it turned out. I really like the collar combined with the light blue jumper! 

If you're in for some more fantastic examples of fake collars, you'll find a link for more inspiration on vermaakster.blogspot.com. And of course more photos and details of the process in Dutch and English.