The Second Half of the Shawl Collar Experiment - Your Weekly Guide from SewingArtistry

Published: Fri, 02/12/21

Basic

February 12, 2021

A couple of days ago, the Arctic circle moved from it's old location to sit itself just on top of my little abode!!! It's freezing out, which means no one is getting out and we're all staying warm and cozy inside, so time to go shopping in the stash (isn't this why we keep a great stash anyway?), and find something fun to do. Here's the first try on my project (on Facebook, so LMK if you don't get this and I'll post it up on the internet.)

I had this fabric actually out on my cutting table for a while and really loved it, BUT, it was gushy and losey-goosey and I knew was going to require some special attention to make it work right.

So here were my guidelines on this:
1. Use a core pattern. When dealing with an iffy fabric, which is something that you don't know if it's going to work or not, you have to make sure that all the other variables are taken away. That means that a must is a core pattern or at least one you've used successfully and that will help.

2. Understand that there's going to have to be some stabilization at the top - that means the shoulders. If you don't do anything to stabilize at the top it going to be like an oversized sweater. That's real cute on a teen or model who eats 2 ricecakes a week, but on normal shapes, uh, not so much....don't even go there.

3. Be prepared for some experimentation, aka, problems that need solving. And also be prepared that there might not be some things that you would like to do that you can't do. For example, there was no way I could do pockets in that first jacket. The stability wasn't there. Even if I put in backing or bondable interfacing, it would have been part stable and the rest would be drapey around the stable part. There is no way to make that look right without stabilizing the whole front, and this is a knit and it's the stretch that we want to have. The problem is that there's too much stretch.

So those were my guidelines for the first muslin. I knew going in that I probably wasn't going to like the top, but it was to work out the problems on this new shawl collar, double breasted open front that was going to need some work. What I didn't expect was that I liked it a lot. I never would have finished it with the bow. A lot of this is the core pattern, because it's such a good do for me.

But I did have some other warmer and more stable fabric (that means it has less gushy drapiness to it), and just as handsome. So here's the second do.

Of course, there were few guidelines...well, there might have been, but since I had just figured out everything in the "muslin" (which turned out to be a pretty neat piece. I'll wear this in less colder days), everything was figured out, except for one thing.

I put it on and my hands immediately went for pockets, so easy as you can be, put some patch pockets on and I'm golden!!! You can see the finished project here.

Here's the video for the "real" jacket, and see how well it turned out. A shawl collar may look like a complete un-doable variation for a core pattern. But this is basically a variation on the opening. All core patterns can be varied this way, woven or stretch. Openings can be in front, (shawl, notch, collarless, V-neck and a host of other neckline variations as well as double-breasted and singled-breasted), in back (zip, overlay, wrap - with waist ties in front - this is where some deep dives on historical and couture can reveal a wellspring of designs).

And of course since you're using the core pattern, boom - you know it's going to come out great!

Here are the three resources separately so you can choose which one you want to use.

Inspiration - click here for more info - SALE $27.50

Who doesn't need this for the new year all full of ideas how! Index includes: The Creative Process, Typical Blocks (The Whys and Hows), The Artistic Process in the Real World, General Fears (And How to Deal With Them) and About Inspiration. These are all meant to help you understand the creative process but how to make this process work for you.

Time Management - click here for more info - SALE $35.50

Recent research on time management practices have shown that working 24/7 is not the most efficient way to use our time. But how do we get things done, particularly when we're on a schedule or a big project. This contains downloads, recent advances in time-management practices, and proven techniques to get your project done without a lot of stress about the time it will take!

Studio Design - click here for more info - SALE $27.50

Studio arrangement sounds like a bunch of hooey, but don't kid yourself. The tools that interior decorators and ancient practices use are there for a reason - they work! Here's a concise directory on how to arrange your work space so that it's efficient and conducive to creating and a productive environment! In here I include a lot of guides on how to set priorities in your arrangement, what to do with those priorities and how to make best use of the space you have.

And here's the original package:

Inspiration, Studio Design and Time Management. They all three key in really well with each other, and they are on a 21% discount for the first of 2021!

Click here for more information!

Enjoy!