A challenge for 2021

I am going great guns on sewing a pair of Dawn jeans. Yesterday I put in the fly and am so pleased with the final result. The topstitching thread is Mara thread (recommended by Lladybird) and it is wonderful to work with, no more shredding of thread or getting stuck. Today I completed the back pockets and attached the yokes to the back. This means the major construction work is pretty much finished. Now what needs doing is to baste up the crotch, then the inseams and the side seams in order to have a fitting. If all is well, I can then proceed to finish those seams as called for in the pattern.

I have been really motivated to get moving on these jeans because I have a sewing challenge coming up and I want to be ready to dig into it as soon as I have all the necessary supplies. My daughter (who lives in Texas and took up sewing two years ago) and I were talking about sewing something challenging. She said she would love to try her hand at traditional tailoring. She has been smitten by the tailoring posts by www.juliabobbin.com - they are quite incredible. Julia has made a couple of jackets with traditional tailoring methods and her sewing is amazing. So I suggested that we do a project together, the Jasika blazer from Closet Core patterns. Well, we are going to do it! Not being ones to procrastinate, both Rebecca and I tend to jump right into things. So we have both ordered the pattern, she went and bought 3 yards of navy linen at Joanne's and is now searching for some Bemberg lining and hair canvas online. I recalled a linen suiting that was in my stash for years, I saved some for myself from my fabric sales days and I think I have about 3 yards of this.

The linen is obviously two threads woven together, a deep chocolate and an ivory, but it is the finish that is amazing. It feels like silk suiting. I don't want to change that finish in any way, so I will not pre-wash this fabric. And since I have no dry-cleaner anywhere close to where I live (they could steam the fabric to shrink it), I will soak this fabric in cool water, and then hang it to dry once we get a warmish day. Then a lot of pressing will be done before cutting out. This is going to be quite the challenge. I haven't hand tailored a jacket for 30 years. I was taught those couture methods at a school in Ottawa and have hand tailored three jackets for myself plus a coat for a customer when I was doing dress-making. But it has been a long time and it will be an exciting experience to go through again. For now, I am waiting for the pattern to arrive, then I will make a muslin to get the right fit, then there is all that hair canvas to catchstitch to the garment pieces. It will be a lot of work but I am looking forward to it. Not to mention that it is thrilling to find my daughter drawn to the same things that give me such pleasure. It only took 30 years, but it was worth the wait!