Made by a Fabricista: Down to Business

Hello everyone! The last time I posted about some things I sewed for my daughter, Serena, she was in Chicago in 2017, and I had made her a black and white mini-wardrobe here. Fast forward 3 years, and she is climbing the corporate ladder and just got promoted to a position where she would need to present frequently to a board of directors. So, the challenge was making something appropriate to wear to the board meetings, also something that would pack in a suitcase well, and something that would be not so dressy so she would still be able to wear it to work on a non-board meeting day. Her workplace is generally ultra casual, which is the trend in most businesses, as I hear. I wish it were more dressy, as I love making suit jackets!

So, to me, the fabrics that came to mind were ponte and double knits- non-wrinkle, comfortable, washable, and professional looking. At the time (this was back in June), Fabric Mart had this fantastic black and white pinstripe knit available. It is so nice- the weight feels like a luxury suiting. Although they are sold out, they often have a great selection here.

Here are my original fabric selections:

I decided that she should have a jacket, a couple of tops, and a couple of bottom options that she could pack when she went on business trips. For the jacket, I chose a pattern from the August issue of Burda 2016 magazine, style #134. This is a pattern that was designed for heavyweight knits such as ponte or sweatshirting. It has a nice long lapel, patch pockets and a lining.

For the pants, I chose Burda Plus Spring 2014 Style 428. They have an elastic back waistband, pockets and are narrow legged.

For the pants, I made one matching the jacket in the full length of the pattern.

And then I made another out of a printed double knit, just 6 inches shorter for more of a capri look. I think that she's worn the capri length more often, so I'm glad that I did.

The peach top is from the January 2015 issue of Burda magazine, #128. I just left off the overlay, and made the sleeves shorter. The peach double knit has a honeycomb texture to it.

Then I made her one more top from a bright blue double knit with a liverpool bullet texture. This one has a draped neckline and ruching at the side. I used Burda 6785 for it.

Serena is living in the Santa Rosa, California area right now, and lives in a beautiful redwood tree grove.

Her area has been spared from the forest fires, but they have been within a few miles of them, which has worried me immensely. She has just accepted a new job in the Denver area, and will be moving there soon. She will miss the beautiful redwood trees!

Her business wardrobe will work in her new position as well, so I hope that she will get several years worth of use from it. So, the fabric for a custom fitted jacket, pants, capris and two tops totalled just a little over $50 when the double knit category was on sale. You cannot beat that!

For those of you that follow my blog in addition to this one, you may know that I have gone through a personal tragedy- my husband died unexpectedly in August. I had made all of these items before this, but I do hope to continue sewing and blogging, as it is quite therapeutic for me to do something creative that I love to do.

Kind regards,

Ann

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