How to craft a crotchety collar (as made by John Rocha)

Crochet is not an out-dated skill - it's a craft seen on catwalks across the world

Heritage Tailors' Shears, £22, johnlewis.com (Wilma)

You can click and buy, or you can pick up a needle and yarn and create your own. Crochet is not an out-dated granny skill, it's a craft seen on catwalks across the world – such as by designer John Rocha whose daughter Simone is continuing the fashionable family tradition. Incidentally, she learnt to crotchet for one of her dad's shows – possibly making a collar, like the one below.

YOU WILL NEED

Rocha's paper pattern (download from imgur.com/9MQh0Ut)
Small piece of leather/PVC
Leather hole punch
Sharp scissors
3 metres of ready-made crochet trim, ideally with a scalloped hem and about 5cm wide
Embroidery thread to match
Sewing needle and thread
Hook and eye

THE MAKE

1. Download the Rocha collar pattern, then fold your base leather/PVC fabric double to create the full pattern piece as shown. Punch through the holes as marked, and cut out the piece.

2. Using a crewel needle and embroidery thread, insert the needle through the first of the leather holes punched around the edge of the leather collar, and secure with a knot on the inside of the collar.

3. Pull the thread through the leather hole and insert it into the edge of your crochet ribbon (not the scalloped edge, that goes at the bottom, as the detail).

4. Secure thread to the first leather hole edge then loop thread over the leather edge and into the second leather hole and through the crochet ribbon again, and continue this all around your collar shape.

5. When you reach the final hole, sew two stitches into the same hole to secure and then through your first hole to ensure there is no gap in the ribbon around the collar. Knot to cast off your thread and cut the loose end of the ribbon and thread to neaten.

6. Finally use the needle and thread to sew on the hook and eye fastenings to the top centre-front edges of the collar.

If you discover you're a dab-hand with crochet, try fashioning the trim yourself. The Rochas used 220g of Lurex yarn (Texere Glitter was the plum choice) and a 3.5mm crochet hook.

This is an exclusive preview from 'Make Life Beautiful' by Camilla Morton, published autumn 2015 by Hutchinson/Random House