Cut up a doily and create this attractive idea

Need to breathe new life into a button-up shirt? Add a pinch of pretty and preppy style with a few doilies sewn to the collar. Doilies have the same classic appeal as lace but are easier to work with, which is good news if you’re a novice sewer.

Believe it or not, the key to this polished and professional collar is hand-dyeing the doilies in black tea. When steeped for 30 minutes, the normally stark white doilies take on a charming, slightly aged style. The color naturally complements a light wash denim shirt and brings out the beautiful detail in the doilies. Prepare to catch your fair share of praise with this collar!

Materials
- Denim shirt with collar
- Ironing board
- Iron
- Small doily
- Medium-sized doily
- Scissors
- Mason jar
- Hot water
- Black tea bag
- Craft stick
- Paper towels
- Blow-dryer
- Straight pins
- Sewing machine
- White thread

Instructions
1. Iron the collar of the denim shirt until it’s flat. Set it aside.

2. Cut both doilies in half. Set the pieces aside.

3. Steep a black tea bag in a mason jar with hot water. Remove the tea bag.

4. Submerge the doily halves in the tea, using a craft stick to push them down. Let them soak for 30 minutes.

5. Remove the doilies from the tea, and place them on paper towels to dry. Use a blow-dryer to speed up the drying process.

6. Place the shirt on the table with the outside of the collar facing up.

7. Place a small doily half on the right side of the collar.

8. Arrange the doily so the scalloped edge lines up with the top edge of the collar and a small bit of the doily hangs off the right edge of the collar. Pin the doily in place.

9. Place a medium-sized doily half just left of the piece you pinned in the previous step.

10. Align the scalloped edge with the top edge of the collar. The right side of the doily should slightly overlap the first doily. Pin the doily in place.

11. Place the other medium piece just left of the piece you pinned in the step 9.

12. Align the scalloped edge with the top edge of the collar. The right side of the doily should slightly overlap the other doily. Use one pin to hold the doily in place.

13. Trim the doily from step 11 so instead of overlapping, the doily you just pinned sits on top of the trimmed edge. Pin the rest of the doily in place.

14. Place the second small doily piece on the left side of the collar.

15. Arrange the doily so the scalloped edge lines up with the top edge of the collar and a small bit of the doily hangs off the left edge of the collar. The right side of the doily should slightly overlap the doily from step 13. Use one or two pins to hold the doily in place.

16. Trim the doily from step 15 so instead of overlapping, the doily you just pinned sits on top of the trimmed edge. Pin the rest of the doily in place.

17. Go back to the doily you pinned in step 7. Trim the right edge so that the doily from step 9 sits on top of the trimmed edge instead of overlapping the whole doily. Pin the edges together.

18. Sew around the edge of the collar with a sewing machine. Start by sewing a line up the left edge of the collar, then turning and sewing along the top edge. Turn and follow the contours of the doilies.

19. After turning and sewing down the right edge of the collar, turn and sew a straight line across the bottom of the collar.

20. Trim the bottoms off the doilies so that the edges are as straight as the line you sewed in step 19. Trim the left and right edges of the small doilies so they match the shape of the collar’s sides.