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[.:Mage.Lulu:.]

Hello!
I am in need of someone or someones who has any experience in costume (well of course you all do, but more specifically recreational or historical costume!)
I'm currently doing a massive project for college, which I have based on Alice in Wonderland - as a bit of a kick to Burton's terrible rehash of the story, I am looking into the dark side of Alice.
Save for a long post, I am taking major inspiration for my Queen of Hearts from Queen Elizabeth I, and her amazing open-ruff collar.
References:
1 http://www.gutenberg.org/files/26120...s/image042.jpg
2 http://www.gogmsite.net/_Media/1589_...ydges_maid.jpg

I have dug deep and tried desperately to find ways to make one, and I can find lots of pictures of them, but no real tutorial :P I am aware of starching, and the use of wire if needed, but I want to create something akin to this:
http://ny-image2.etsy.com/il_fullxfull.100132970.jpg
And I know that it has a sturdy base affixed to it, like this:
http://ny-image0.etsy.com/il_fullxfull.100133344.jpg
Has anyone made something like this and can give me help, or better yet, any step-instructions on how to do this? Mine wont be as flambuoyant as this, I want to use cotton hemmed with a bobbin-lace I have bought. I am willing to use wire to stiffen, and have extremely hard interfacing to hand, so can anyone give me some advice, and images of what they have done before?

Thank you!

P.S. I am aware of the sites elizabethancostume but was more hoping for some information from people who HAVE made one, rather than re-posting the link which I have already looked through

[Mangochutney]

Here you go! I can vouch that it works a charm, and no starch or ironing required. To make one that opens in front, simply don't close the neckband in front and pin the outer edges of the last ruff pleat to the front of your bodice. The neckband in that tutorial has a bump in the back to give the ruff its flare--you can make it bigger and more reinforced for a more dramatic effect like the one in your second set of photos.

[CorsetedDoll]

Ya that is one way but if you don't want to deal with pleats you can do the figure 8's by hand and just use a strip of fabric of your choosing and wire the outer edge first of course heresa site i found
http://www.yourfantasycostume.com/ac...-how-find-them

[nessabutterfly]

I used that first tutorial as well. Here is my result: http://www.cosplay.com/photo/2695120/ I had trouble with the folding though, and kinda made it up a little to sew it to the neck band. It was just too hard to fold. Then again, I couldn't get the wide horsehair in white, so I used buckram instead. So that might have impacted the results. I also wanted it perfectly horizontal, rather than sprouting from the top of the band, so tweaking the directions was necessary there too.

[Aurora Maryte]

I just wanted to say thank you to all of you!!! I've been trying to make an Elizabethan collar too and didn't know how. This helps soooo much.