Bluebird of Happiness - Coat - Part XVIII

Blue Collar It Is!

Yes, the coat will have a blue collar. I think most people had the same general opinion after seeing the pictures regarding the fur collar. It was a nice idea, but didn't really work in reality! This whole thing with the collar brings me to two good points.

One, some ideas might seem to be good ideas, but in reality are not. Doing a little mock-up or sample will really help you figure out the difference between the two. The fur would have been gorgeous, just on another coat. The pictures from this weekend proved that.

Two, don't be so enamored with an idea that you'll follow through with it, even if it is a bad one. I learned a long time ago that it is better to have many ideas and not to get too attached to a particular one. Projects change over time, and many times they end up being quite different than the original concept. When I start these large art garment projects, I usually have a specific vision in mind, but I always allow that to change if I see that in real life something isn't right. Letting go of the fur collar was not a problem - it was actually good to know that it didn't look right at all.

Over the past three or four days, I've been working on the collar border. I hope to get the small outer borders done today. As you can see below, I need to do only one more line of satin stitching(!) to finish the small outer borders, and then this evening I can bead all the feathers. I am hoping that by Saturday the collar will be complete and attached to the coat.

Regarding the bow and its current size, that bow is a mock up only, I know some of you saw it and voiced a concern regarding it. I'm almost 100% sure those tails and loops are too long and big! I just grabbed a piece of synthetic crepe in the right color from my collection (the read deal silk georgette will be here later this week) to make a mock up to see if I liked the bow or not at the same time I was trying collar ideas. Once I get the collar at least basted in place, I will experiment with bow size and length. I have no problem taking a pair a scissors to those tails and cutting until it is right! I'm going to guess that the tails need to be half as long, but again, that's something to be seen in the mock up. Since the collar has a border, too, I don't think too much of the coat borders will be hidden. Who knows? We'll see!

Parting Shot: Blazer. I never did get a half way decent picture of my son in the blazer I made him for Christmas. He wore it to church yesterday, so I finally got a decent picture. He wears it without the hood to church, and wore it with the matching black pants yesterday. Last week he wore it with tan trousers.