DIY tutorial of the week: make your own statement neck piece
Statement necklaces are big this season, and are excellent for adding interest and detail to a plain t-shirt or dress. I recently spotted a really cool plaited jersey neck piece in an East London boutique for about £60, and thought I would have a go at making one myself. It actually turned out waaay better than I had initially planned – with a bonus ‘rose’ detail that came about by accident when I was trying to work out what to do with the ends.
It’s relatively quick and simple to make and you don’t need any specific skills – apart from the ability to plait. I wore it on Sunday and attracted loads of comments from people wanting to know where I bought it!
Here’s a step-by-step tutorial to making one yourself.
You will need:
• 90cm x 150cm of jersey fabric in colour of your choice (if you want to make a longer necklace, you will need more than 150cm in length)
• Extra scraps of jersey to make two ties – I had enough left over because I bought a metre-length of 150cm-wide fabric
• Water-erasable fabric pen
• Scissors
• Gaffer tape (or someone to hold your braid)
• Ruler
1. Lay your fabric out flat and mark out 30cm points along the shortest length. Do the same on the other side.
2. At your first 30cm point, rule a line with the water-erasable fabric marker along the longest length so you create a 150cm x 30cm strip.
3. Cut along the line so you end up with a length of 150cm x 30cm fabric.
4. Rule another line at 30cm along the shortest length – this should divide the length of fabric in half. Cut along the line. You should now have three separate strips of fabric measuring 150cm x 30cm. Dab out any visible pen marks with a wet cloth.
5. Gather the ends together and gaffer tape the ends to a chair – leaving around 10cm of fabric loose at the end. (Warning: make sure the chair doesn’t have a varnished or painted surface as the tape may damage it. You might want to choose some other surface, or alternatively, ask someone to hold the end for you.)
6. Start plaiting the three lengths of fabric together. Ensure you keep the tension consistent so the plaiting is even.
7. At the end of the plait, use a narrow scrap of the same fabric to secure it by tying a double knot. Ensure you leave around 10cm loose.
8. Unstick the plait from the chair and use the ends of one knot to tie a double-knot around the other end. Do the same with the other end of the plait. You should now have a plaited loop.
9. Line up the ends of the plait in your hand and trim it to make sure they’re even.
10. Pull out and fan the ends to create a flower shape. That’s it – you’re done!
TOTAL SPENT: £9.10
COST OF DESIGNER NECK PIECE: £60
TOTAL SAVED: £50.90
Check out the video below to see how I made it…
Make your own statement neck piece from OolaMoola on Vimeo.
Comments (12)
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I love it, clever Birdy Moola! Make it chunkier and you’ll have a scarf for winter. Woohoo! xxx
Excellent idea! Well done!
LOVE this and will be giving it a go…let you know how I get on!
Awesome - will be trying that one!
I love this! And it looks so simple! Will be adding this to my holiday to do list!
[...] dietro la nuca, con anello di metallo). e ancora, qui. alcuni degni sviluppi e variazioni su tema: oolamoola, necklush, mozui e il fortunato ‘lookbook‘ di kapow [...]
just found this via @ediefashion on twitter. planning to share your post & video on scoutie girl this afternoon! thanks for the great tute.
tara
great tutorial — can’t wait to try it!
[...] together presents is one of my most favorite things to do! I also had the chance to try out this DIY jersey necklace tutorial that I found the other week. And this is what I came up with. What do you think? Do you like it? [...]
Thanks so much for sharing - the necklace is WONDERFUL!
How did you get the flower look so pretty? I tried it but as you can see on the picture it didn’t work out quite as well ;(
I think this is a super idea and seeing as Christmas is fast approaching, it would make a lovely gift! How about using some other strechy sparkly material or fabric embossed with sequins ? Gonna give it a go and thanks so much for sharing your idea !