Comments on: Pop Quiz 481: What’s wrong with this collar? pt.2

By: Trish

Trish — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 03:54:40 +0000

dosfashionistas, I teach apparel design and right angles are my most vocal issue… even shoulders, etc… how else to make a beautiful garment? People who look at you like you are crazy just do not know how to make great patterns!!!! Stand your ground.

By: dosfashionistas

dosfashionistas — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 16:07:56 +0000

Ahhhh. The second photograph makes things much clearer. Were there others I should have looked at elsewhere? I always was one to gallop away with too little information.

What I wanted to say is that the technical sketches point up a rule I was taught in my very first pattern making class (’61), which is that all corners of a pattern should be right angles at least as far as the seam allowance width. Every time I spout that lately people look at me like “Huh?” Is that not taught any more or did I have a teacher who had a bee in her bonnet about it. I have found it useful as a rule of thumb more than an absolute, but I would be interested to hear what others were taught.

By: Maura Townsend

Maura Townsend — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 05:33:21 +0000

Well, sure. It's possible, especially given that she purchased a coat of a larger size than she wears. Extra fabric, from the unneeded ease makes it possible. However, as I said, possible does NOT equal worth the effort! It would have to be picked completely apart, refit/recut to both the actual intended style and her figure, interfaced where necessary, possibly have the buttons changed out, probably re-lined, and in other words - it would be less trouble to draft a whole new pattern without trying to alter it, and make a bespoke item. So, yeah, it's not really save-able. Certainly not worth it to actually do. I'm for redrafting and starting fresh, really.

By: Esther

Esther — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 04:26:02 +0000

Except the CPSC bans safety pins (indirectly) in kids wear because they are sharp and pointy. ;-)

By: Eric H

Eric H — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 03:52:13 +0000

Safety pins … cures what ails ya.

By: Kathleen

Kathleen — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 03:48:18 +0000

I’m no slouch either especially in the coat department but Maura but I’d love to know how you’d fix this -meaning correcting what was really wrong with it, not by creating a subroutine or work around or with patching.

By: Esther

Esther — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 03:40:40 +0000

Thank you for the explanation! I have been doing what Rita suggests in her drawing for a long time without knowing why I was doing it. Funny.

By: Maura Townsend

Maura Townsend — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 00:43:08 +0000

As an experienced seamstress, I have to say that it is possible to fix the coat. However, it is not worth it to do so.