Once You Obtain Tailoring Skills, It's Hard to Let Them Go!

Good Morning from the iceberg we are calling Chicago!!! Wow, is it ever cold!!! At least the sun is shining, so hopefully some of the iced over sidewalks won't be as treacherous as they are at the moment. 

I just have to brag a bit...Mr. Berkley graduated from level 3 to level 4 in his training. I am so very proud of him. Level 4 will be a little difficult as in this level he will have to demonstrate the ability to just walk past another dog without paying attention to them. Berkley is such a friendly guy, and always wants to say hello to other dogs. So, we have our work cut out for us. My goal was to have him complete level 3 by Thanksgiving. My next goal is to have him complete level 4 by Christmas. The challenge is on!!! :)

I apologize for being so delinquent from the blog. Just a lot on my plate. But, I am happy to say that my husband has healed from his broken leg, and is back to his normal activities. I've also been doing quite a bit of flying. I needed to do some currency work, so that has taken a good bit of my time. On my last flight, as I came in to land, even if I say so myself, it was a beautiful landing, a true greaser. The flight instructor said, "Do you do that just to impress me? Believe me, I'm already impressed!" Made my day :) 

Now, back to a little tailoring.
What I have learned about advancing your skills as a sewist, once you learn how, it's difficult to go back. 

I am putting together the Box Blazer pattern from Pattern Union. It's an unstructured, unlined jacket, but with tailored details.    

Here's the lovely Sarah in her creation.



The jacket was designed to be quick and easy to make, but...

As you can see, I have underlined the pieces with cotton batiste. I love cotton batiste for underlining wool. If you decide to use cotton batiste, be sure it is cotton batiste and not quilting cotton. Cotton batiste is a very fine fabric that works beautifully as an underlining.

Here's my jacket in the early stag of construction. I will be using horsehair interfacing for the collar and lapels, and I will also use the horsehair interfacing in the hem of the jacket and the hem of the sleeves. Using horsehair in the hems makes all the difference in the world as it makes the hems hang so beautifully. I wanted you to see the jacket at his stage as once the horsehair interfacing goes in, you'll really see the difference. 

The jacket was designed to be unlined, but...I need a lining :) I found this beautiful piece of silk charmeuse. How pretty will this be?!!   

The next step will be to do the bound buttonholes, and then the collar and facing will go in. Can't wait to get it finished!

Lots more tailoring will be following!

Have a wonderful day!

Rhonda