Wednesday, July 21, 2010

The Death of the Freakin' Collar.

Long, long ago I was totally defeated by BWOF 04-06-126 and what I came to call the Freakin' Collar. (Click here for the back story) I made a vow to conquer that collar with its poorly written instructions and I kept trying. Finally, I can say the Freakin' Collar has been laid to rest.  I can sew it and barely consult the instructions.  Take that,  Freakin' Collar!

At the end of last summer, I bought shorts without buying tops to go with them.  (They were on clearance - what else could I do? )  I packed them away before I got a chance to wear them.  So this summer, when I unpacked summer clothes, I discovered I didn't have anything to wear with the shorts other than white tops and t-shirts.  So, it became my quest to make a top to match the shorts.  Nothing makes a project more difficult than trying to match fabric to a specific garment I already have.  To make it even more difficult, I went to JoMar  to look for the fabric.  JoMar has terrific bargains, but a shopper is really setting herself up for failure if she is looking for something specific.  But, wonder of wonders, I found fabric I liked in the right color.  That shopping victory made me feel invincible so I chose to use BWOF 04-06-126.  I'd made the blouse at least three times, always with a little trepidation, but this time I was feeling confident. 

The design is deceptively simple, but sewing the collar is a b!t¢#.  At least 70% of the instructions pertain to the collar.  And,  just to taunt me, BWOF uses this collar a lot.



First,  the collar stand is not your typical collar stand.  It involves sewing a concave curve to a convex curve and requires lots of pinning and easing. (Shudder.)








If that weren't bad enough,  a corner is formed when sewing the collar to the lapel.  Not a smooth curve or a straight line, but a corner.  Actually, it's four corners when you consider the upper and under collars





If you are still in your right mind after the collar stand and lapel,  you have to sew the upper collar to the facings and the under collar to the neckline separately.  Imagine doing all this by following BWOF's diagramless and poorly translated text, and you know why I called this "The Freakin' Collar".

Finally, after this blouse, the Freakin' Collar is just a bad memory that has been replaced by the "Burda Collar".  There are more Burda collars in my future; one on a dress (BWOF 05-10-137) and I just might make this blouse one more time.   I can approach this collar with no fear!

Epilogue: After I finished the blouse, I didn't like the way it looked with the shorts.  The shorts were too casual for the blouse; the blouse was too dressy for the shorts;  they just weren't quite right together.    I'm still left with the original dilemma:  shorts and no coordinating top!  I have a big piece of this fabric left.  Hopefully it's enough for a more suitable blouse.

11 comments:

  1. Pretty blouse! And the collar looks beautiful :)

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  2. Have you ever checked out Sigrid's tutorial on collars and stands? I don't know if it will work with that stand, but it is worth a glance. I feel your clothing dilema- nothing goes with anything in my closet right now!

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  3. The collar pattern does look complex. I have never seen a stand look like that. I like your blouse and the collar shown looks very finished.

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  4. Congrats on conquering this collar! The blouse looks lovely.

    I'm currently drafting and sewing up a convertible collar that has the stand built into the collar. In reading up on these, it seems that you shouldn't have to ease anything in the collar area. I wonder if this is one of the few times that Burda has a mistake in the draft? Regardless, I'm glad you got it to work for you!

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  5. I have made this collar many times, but mostly on jackets. This is much easier to sew if you use 1/4" sas. If your fabric is at all ravelly, interface to the edges to eliminate problems. The easiest way I have found to sew this collar and lapel combination is from an old Threads article It's from Dec/Jan 97 if you have old Threads or the new DVD. page 34-36. If like a lot of Burda collars you have that angled neckline, it's still usable but it takes a little adjustment. If you want a copy of this, email me and I'll send it to you.

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  6. Oh, and I do like the blouse with the shorts. It doesn't come across to dressy in your photos. It's a really pretty print.

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  7. My current project, The Wedding Suit, has a similar style collar. I'm glad you stuck with it and conquered it, because it looks great!

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  8. I love the fabric! I've made this collar a few times on Burda patterns with the same issues as you. The first time was a complete disaster. Glad you conquered it because I love the blouse.

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  9. That collar sounds like a tailored collar used on jackets. I have a blouse pattern that has that type of collar, and I drafted a different one. Your blouse looks great, though.

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  10. Good for you for sticking with it and conquering it ;) it looks great.

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