The Three Musketeers Costume Crafts

Directed By: Bart Williams

Costume Design: Amber Marisa Cook

Costume Shop Manager: Deana M. Luetkenhaus

Medici Collar

As apart of my Independent Study over costume crafts it was a project of mine to build a 1600's French Style Medici Collar for the Queen of the show.

For this project I did visual and technical research on the collar of how it was made back in the 1600's.

I started by hand basting over 2 yards of white lace and loose woven linen. There were 4 basting stitched done for the entire length to assure stability. From there I gather an end and starched the collar.

A frame was made from millinery wire and white gaff tape for structure and support. The top had a scalloped edge for decoration.

Once the collar was starched I hand tacked it to the frame. And then created a bias binding for connection of the collar and to create a closure so that it could be attached to the dress.

After that I created a backing of lace and linen that was eased into the back of the frame and hand stitched.

Finials were added and adorned with jewels and pearls. While in dress rehearsal it was discovered that with the actors rigorous movements that the jewels were falling off and becoming a safety hazard for the performance. The finials were scrapped in the end for safety.