BWOF Dress begins, or what a difference a year makes

Let us flash back to my very first attempt at a notched collar, shall we? It was June of 2007, hot as blazes, and I fancied myself a beginner in need of professional assistance. Where to turn? Joann's lured me in with their Creative University classes. I signed up for Sewing a Suit and created a gray polyester thing that was at once wonderful and discouraging.

I was the only one who paid for the course, so it was one-on-one instruction. Mostly she just guided me through the instructions. Part of me felt that I could have just saved my $100 and bought some really great fabric, but I have to admit she helped me through some tough spots. One particular rough spot was the collar. Simplicity 4146 has a notched lapel that should have been straight forward. My choice of fabric made this very challenging, I realized much later while trying another jacket in a very reasonable and well behaved cotton.

Flash forward to the current class I am taking with a sewing professional, Prof. S-, part of an actual curriculum with design and fashion majors. He demonstrated a collar and stand construction that was just so simple and lovely! I have chosen Burda WoF 06-2007-139 for the next project.

I leave you to compare the results his method produced on my muslin's collar (pink) tonight to my first attempt (grey)... To truly appreciate what a difference a year makes, click on each photo to see the large scale version.