Gertie Coat Update and SFD Tip

I hurt my neck somehow, so I have been gritchy all day.  I HATE being like that.  Jerry is so sweet.  He went all the way to the store to get me one of those funny collars you wear when you've been in a wreck.  I've been wearing it for a few hours, but I started sweating underneath it and took it off.  My neck doesn't even hurt anymore.  AWESOME!!!

Mine looks just like the picture except it has a cut-out for my chin.  Wonder if you can wear it in bed?  Guess I'll find out.

I am still tired though.  I've worked on Gertie Coat Muslin #2 issues all day long.  I still haven't looked at my Dress Kit Book, but I am going to grab it on my way to the nearest recliner in a bit.

The FIRST thing I did was add all the extra fullness I needed in the collar in the back, like this:

I sewed up Muslin #2.  It looked good in the back, BUT the collar still stood too high up above my shoulders.

I had to get a new assistant to help me since Phylly is out of town today and tomorrow visiting her daughter.  She has FIVE grandchildren all weekend, and I do not envy her. 

The only person I could find to help, of course, was Jerry.  I'm sure he wants to run and hide somewhere when I am sewing on Saturday and Phylly isn't around.  He didn't have to do too much.  Just measure the giant gap in the back of my collar so I knew how much to add to it.  THEN, later, he had to measure how much to subtract from it so I could put that in at the shoulder.

Here is a photo of what I did next.  There is a total addition of SIX INCHES around the outside edge.  I must have really big something.  I sure don't know what though!

After I finished messing with the collar, which took hours, I decided to take my Sure-fit Designs blueprint DOWN OFF THE DOOR which is where I used it yesterday, and put it on the table.  I wanted to compare it again to the Butterick paper pattern.  When I held my Butterick pattern up to the door and tried to lay it over top, it didn't really give me the right information.

So the SFD Tip is:  It is MUCH BETTER to have both patterns on a FLAT surface so you can be sure you are matching up Center Front the whole way up and down and the Shoulder Seam at the shoulder.  I noticed right away that I did not have the slope correct, and when looking at the BACK of my muslin in the photo, it was pretty obvious.

I decided to make up my own cure for this problem.  I've never done a shoulder slope correction on a dolman sleeve because I never make them.  I decided if you can move a boob dart down by cutting  a box around it, that I could move this arm down by cutting a box around it.

I cut that entire pink line and removed the sleeve.

I moved it down 1/2" so the top of the sleeve would line up with the NEW top of the shoulder.  I taped it all back together. 

I am thinking that this correction -- which was done before collar fix #2 -- may have been what required collar fix #2.

If you are as tired as I am, I doubt any of this is making sense.  If you decide to make a Gertie coat though, this information will be helpful.

I'm off to the recliner.  Gonna get that book first so I can look at the page you referred me to, Glenda. 

Nite nite,

Joy