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Thursday, March 10, 2005

Loes Hinse Shawl Collar Jacket Report

Well..... this is a learning curve. I spent the better part of yesterday and today stitching - though I almost have 4 garments completed - in orange Minkee for my www.londas-illiniwear.com site. Good thing Orange is the 'in' color this spring - or at least one of the favorites... I've taken 5 pictures to share - so bare with me as I figure this out...posting pictures with Hello and Picasa - the FREE progams that you can get with the Blog Account.

I can't seem to figure out how to put pictures right into this post - so I'll write and refer to the other posts with pictures (til my Dear Son can help me!). Don't fret - I'll post how to do it as soon as I learn!

Full jacket
- you can see I used the 'Dimpled" for the collar portion - the solid for the other. BEWARE: don't press on the dimpled - or you will loose the dimple of the dimple. Right now, I have a piece in the washer and dryer to see if that makes the dimple return.... just checked: NO, the dimples do NOT Return once pressed - and I didn't press hard either! :( FYI - I have an entire jacket of the dimpled that will now have to be entirely 'un-dimpled' with pressing - I'll 'Google" for that problem before I do it though!

I used a cotton for the Under Collar and INTERFACED it with a fusible - light weight. This would have NEVER worked if I'd used Minkee for the under collar as well as the upper collar! The directions in the pattern are very, very confusing and incomplete in my estimation. I'm writing my Londa's 2 Cents in my head as I go here - I also have put the pattern on sale at my site - Gee, I wonder why??? Just not worth $16 in my book...
For anyone who takes advantage of this sale and gets the pattern before I write my Londa's 2 Cents, I'll be sure to send it to you electronically as soon as it is done. With my daughter ready to give birth any minute, I'm not promising anything with dates right now! :)

That said, I do think it is a somewhat neat concept to have the tucks transfer into a more shaped area at the lower front. The jacket I made was the shorter version. The longer version totally turned me off for some reason - You MUST interface the Collar though - and, counter to what I usually recommend, I think you should interface the UNDER Collar - after you remake the pattern for the undercollar as shown in the picture of the pattern piece. I think just folding out the tucks and mushing the pattern to make a new pattern - smaller, obviously, will work just fine. Then, you leave the Upper collar as it is given, and do the tucking in the Upper Collar only.

That is a GORGEOUS Arora Borealis rhinestone button and Lion Brand Fun Fur yarn couched that
'liven' up the jacket.

I do think it needs some shoulder pads - as Loes calls for. I need to add those for real yet. I almost always stick them in on my dressform when I photo my garments.

I did cut a large - but the largest size on the arms - cause I KNOW from experience that her arms run very, very small.

4 comments:

joan71 said...

Londa, I have been eyeing this pattern and wondering if I wanted to buy it. I did check with all my ASG sewing buddies to see if any of them had made it and none had. So, your review is very timely for me. I will certainly hold off til I see what your final comments are.
Do you have any other pattern you could recommend with a shawl collar that is kinda' unstructured as her patterns are? I like that kind of garment, especially for spring and summer........but not the very loose fitting ones with a lot of fabric.

Kathy in NE Ohio said...

Thanks for this review Londa. I've been eyeing this pattern also and think maybe it is not for me.

Your Illini site is fun. So sorry about our Ohio State Buckeyes. They kind of spoiled a perfect season for you all. As they say, "on any given day......"

Londa said...

I think it did them (Illini) good to lose to you (or anyone) before the tournaments where they need to really constantly give it their all. We won handidly yesterday at the beginning of the Big Ten Tourny.

I'm so confident that we'll be in the Final Four, that I have a condo rented about 1 hour away from St. Louis for 6 to rent. If anyone is interested....... PLEASE call me! :)

Londa said...

Joan - how about taking the concept of the collar from The Sewing Workshop's Mission Jacket and applying it to any more fitted jacket that you have already got?

I like that Mission Jacket - except the extra loose arms. I fray the edge of the collar - a single layer. See a sample on my www.londas-illiniwear.com site - and also in my clothing Gallery under Gallery on my site: www.londas-sewing.com