Jeweled Collar How-To

A few weeks ago while shopping I came across a beautiful sweater with a jeweled collar. I loved it until I checked the price tag. No way am I paying over $50 for a sweater. That's 1/3 of my monthly budget! I was so disappointed until I got to thinking. I could easily make something similar for much less money. And so I did. In fact it's so simple I am not sure if it's worth a DIY post. But whatever. 

I found a J.Crew at Goodwill for $5 and some rhinestones at JoAnn Fabrics for about $11. I am sure you could get them cheaper with coupons, they were just on sale at the time so I wasn't able to use mine (darn it!). These actually took a bit of hunting to find. Michael's and Walmart do not carry them. Hobby Lobby probably does, but we don't have one nearby...yet! I specifically wanted rhinestones set in metal because they look more expensive than the plastic ones with holes in them for sewing. With the ones I chose, the metal backing has holes in it to sew them on. I choose two different kinds for a simple pattern, but there were lots of options! 

To make the sweater find the center point on the front of the collar and place your middle rhinestone. Then go from there.

Use chalk to mark the places of the rhinestones once they are in place. Then sew them on one at a time. For the eleven rhinestones I had, this took just over an hour. Make sure to hand wash and lay flat to dry. A polka dot pattern with the rhinestones across the front of the sweater could be really cute, too! 

Passion for Fashion @ Lena B Actually and Rachel the Hat,  Friday's Fab Favorites, Favorite Fashion Friday, Fashion Item Friday