Saturday, March 31, 2012

A Humongeos Error of Unknown Origin

Ok, the topstitching was a pain in the patootie since I'm using a contrast thread so it needs to be darn near perfect.  I don't know how many times I pulled the topstitching off of those shoulder seams, only to have them still not be balanced perfectly.  I finally achieved 'good enough' and moved on to the collar.

It wasn't until I came to the computer and pulled up pictures of the pattern and other reviews to check the collar that I realized that only the sleeve side of those seams was supposed to be topstitched.  So I took out the topstitching on the body side; that alleviated much of the 'not quite symmetric' problem I was having.  But the collar is covering that up, so it doesn't show at all in the 'WIP' photograph.

The collar, however, was beyond such simple fixes. Look at it carefully, then look at the pattern on Vogues's site. Do you notice the difference?  The collar is supposed to come all the way to the front edge of the jacket!  Mine is a good 3 3/4 inches short.  On both sides. That's 7 1/2 inches total (can I scream?  Just a little??)  Now, if you look at the reviews for this pattern, you'll  see that everyone else's collar comes to the front edge as well.  This is obviously an error on my part. 

But, not being able to find the pattern, I can't even begin to figure out what the problem is.

My guess is that I made bustline alterations (low, full) and somehow altered the neckline without realizing it.  I don't remember making alterations, but I can't figure out ANY way I could've generated such a whopping big error without having done that.  I don't believe it was caused by stretching of the neckline; only the sleeves weren't stabilized by something right at the start, and the error is consistent between the jacket and the facing/lining, which I wouldn't expect if they had stretched out of shape.  It must be an error in the (presumably altered) pattern that I used to cut the jacket.

Of course, no one I meet when wearing the jacket is going to look at it and exclaim, 'Oh, my goodness!  Why isn't that collar where it's supposed to be?'  (unless, of course, said person happens to have read the blog...).  It just looks like that's the way the collar was supposed to be; it'll be our little secret that it's wrong.

Sigh. I *really* liked the collar as drawn on the envelope and sewn by everyone else in the world but me.

I really, really hope that pattern turns up.  I want to know what happened here.

11 comments:

  1. Wow! It doesn't even look like the same collar. Could you somehow have cut it from a different pattern? It's a pretty color and I hope it works for you none-the-less.

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    1. Nope, it's definitely cut from the same pattern! I think it's lying flatter because of the elongated neck (it does V considerably deeper on me than it is on the envelope) so it looks wider; there's no roll. It may roll a bit once I get it on and buttoned; we'll see. I just can't believe I added that much to the neckline without realizing it. Guess it was one of those 'Oh, wow, I am getting old' moments....

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  2. Looks to me, and I could be wrong, that the problem may not be so much in the collar as you can't just add that much to a cut out pattern if it wasn't there to begin with, BUT with the button area. It looks boxy there. If you are looking for a collar that comes all the way down I would rethink my button area.

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  3. You added to the width of the front pieces? I do identify with the getting too loose in the upstairs department :)

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  5. Well, I really don't know what I did...whatever it was, I did it last year and the pattern itself got misplaced when we moved all my sewing stuff off the porch for the renovation. I don't remember making any alterations, but I surely must have for that neckline to have grown like that. It would've been a pain to pin up all the pieces...back, back sleeve, front sleeve, side front and front to walk that seamline, but, wow, I really, really should've done that.

    Or made a muslin. Sigh.

    And the problem isn't with the collar...it's the neckline of the jacket that's wrong. As you said, the button area. That should be higher, just under the collar, and the collar should roll nicely over it. But I wonkered up the neckline and somehow ended up with extra.

    I gotta find the pattern and see what I did.

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    1. Did you attach the wrong edge of the collar to the jacket? That's how it looks to me. Try measuring the outer edge of the collar and compare it to the measurement for the jacket's edge. Good luck.

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    2. *FACEPALM*

      That could be it. I'll check...

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    3. Bingo. Well, I said I was flying blind. Now to decide if I want to brave upicing the already trimmed seams to fix it...eeee....

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  6. Something to do during "Mad Men". I like the collar on that jacket; it's worth doing. Besides, the sleeves are already set in...

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  7. Hey, basically I'm just glad it's fixable! ;-) Thanks for the insight!!!

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