DIY - EMBELLISHED COLLAR SLEEVELESS SHIRT

YOU WILL NEED:

Hot-fix gems (I used these)

Tweezers

Iron (if you are not confident, but super rich/dedicated you could buy a hot fix gun -example here)

Plain shirt (mine was from Topshop)

Tailors Chalk (regular chalk or a white pencil will usually do)

Needle and Thread + Beads (optional - I used these)

This really isn’t how I planned to do this post! There was supposed to be a video and stop-motion and colour filters text narration and Mount Kimbie and all sorts.

But as my laptop works at a snails pace and takes about ten years to do anything and then loads the page one pixel at a time I had to abandon that project and do a photo post instead.

Today I am taking a cotton, jersey, sleeveless top and using hot-fix gems to customise the collar.

You can use a household iron to heat them up, you just have to be careful!

I also chose sew on some silver skull beads to make it stand out a bit more. So therefore I needed some tailors chalk and a needle and thread. But you can leave this part out if your don’t like sewing or just want a more uniform look to your collar.

I would recommend having a play around with where you want your gems or your shirt before you stick them down. It might be that you decide to have them down centre of the shirt along the button line or perhaps scattered  all over the top itself as I have seen in some shops recently.

After you have decided, use your tailors chalk to mark out your design.

Next plug in your iron and place it somewhere secure so the metal plate is facing upwards. Once you feel confident it isn’t going to fall over (I recommend putting it upside down in the iron holder on your ironing board) you can place your gems shiny-side down onto the irons metal plate.

As soon as the gems start to look gummy or bubble, use tweezers to pick them up and apply to your shirt.

Carry on this same process until you are happy with your design and then iron over the top of whole embellished area you have just created to fix your design.

I then chose to remove random gems and replace with my skull beads. However far you take it is upto you!

This is the finished top!

Unfortunately I ran out of gems towards the end (which had me scrabbling around through old baggies of them like a crack hound) so I had to go for a more jaggedy finish to the collar instead of the neat end I was after.

I am very pleased with the finished effect. It is very sturdy and feels really good quality, a bit like a mirrorball.

Here is a picture of me wearing it the other night. Please excuse my Lady and the Tramp hair covering up the collar! Also the pout. It’s a sickness.

Here is some design inspiration: