I am very pleased with it - although I used a combinatin of freeform and symmetrical in the design during the actual beading, I am happy that for my first neckpiece it has turned out so well. It is very comfortable to wear and is reasuringly heavy rather than being uncomfortably so, and is easily wearable. The large shell design cabochons are 30mm in diameter, so the depth of the front of the collar is approximately double that - quite deep and a good area for embroidering. I planned the collar to be this size so it would be bold enough with simple edging without fringe - any fringed ones I make will probably be narrower to take this into account.
I will endeavour to take some better photos for when I add it to my gallery! As mentioned before, the vintage cabochons are from Rosebudlia. Sue has very kindly featured this on her front page! These cabs are very easy to bead around, and are a good weight if you use a few of them. Stones would have made this collar much heavier.
These photos show the back with fern green ultrasuede, and the clasp. I used the attachment method Sherry Serafini outlines in her 'Sensational Bead Embroidery book, to give me a 6cm gap at the back for correct fitting.
