In September, we lost Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. She was beloved by many for her words and values. Her passing inspired a trend of crocheted collars.

Hand crocheted RBG collars were the right gift for a few of my peeps. Here’s the version I made:

Supply list and product links:

• Crochet Thread Size 3*: https://amzn.to/2WyyQnK
• Crochet Hook (3.5mm): https://amzn.to/2LO9EHv
• Button (1/2 inch or less)

*From one spool of ‘Red Heart #3 crochet thread’, I got three (3) of the collars described below.

Time commitment: Each collar took somewhere between 2 and 4 hours to crochet. If you like to watch college basketball, you can crochet while watching two games and you’ll likely finish crocheting the collar during the second game.

My Version of the Collars (caveat: This is a listing of my rows and what’s in them, but not professionally-written crochet instructions.):

• Row 1: Chain 77
• Row 2: Turn. In every other chain stitch, single crochet + chain 1
• Row 3: Turn. *Chain 3, single crochet in space between Row 2 single crochets, repeat from * to end.
• Row 4: Turn. *Chain 4, single crochet in chain 3 space in Row 2, repeat from * to end.
• Rows 5-7: Repeat Row 4
• Collar end: Turn and single crochet 8 stitches along end.
• Repeat two more single crochet rows.
• Chain 8 for button loop, and attach loop to neck edge with slipstitch.
• Neckline: In each chain 1 space, single crochet + chain 1 to other end of collar.
• Collar end: Turn and single crochet 9 stitches along end.
• Repeat one more single crochet row on end.
• Add button at neckline and tie off thread ends.

Shrink and block the collar.

• To shrink, I soaked the collar for a few minutes in a cup of boiling water, and then tumble-dried it in a hot dryer. It came out in a compact ball.
• To block the collar, stretch it back into shape by pinning it to padded cardboard, cover with a press cloth and steam it with the iron.

Then sew on the button.

For easy gifting, the collar fits in a greeting card. Hint: The flatter the button the better for mailing in a card.

Other patterns:

For ideas and inspiration, I studied these two RBG collar patterns:

• #1–This collar is more authentic to the picture on RBG’s book. It uses #10 thread and a 2.25mm crochet hook. The pattern and instructions are free in this blog. https://stitchmelove.wordpress.com/2020/10/27/rbg-or-ruth-bader-ginsburg-collar-pattern-free/
• #2–This collar pattern on Ravelry is no longer available, but the pictures and description were helpful. It uses Size 4 crochet thread and a 5mm hook. https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/rbg-lace-collar

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MORE ABOUT RBG

Wikipedia link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruth_Bader_Ginsburg

Notorious RBG tour: Take a virtual tour via Zoom, of this special RBG exhibit at the Illinois Holocaust Museum through February 20, 2021. https://www.ilholocaustmuseum.org/rbg/ (Pre-registration required.)

On the Basis of Sex (movie): “The true story of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, her struggles for equal rights, and the early cases of a historic career that lead to her nomination and confirmation as U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice.” https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4669788/

Several of the usual streaming services offer this movie. Here is the link to stream on Amazon Prime. https://amzn.to/2WzmbRw

_{**The Amazon links in this post are affiliate links, meaning if you click and buy, I may receive a few cents from Amazon, which will help me offset the cost of my blog, which I’m committed to keeping ad-free.}