Sew What do I Wear... Professional Edition

Since I have recently gone back to work part time... the type of clothing I now find myself sewing has shifted a little bit.  It used to be nothing but leggings and hoodies for this girl, but I am now drawn to more versatile pieces that I can wear to work.  Thankfully, I haven't gone back to a stiff corporate job that requires suits (bleh!), but I do still like to look professional at the office.  Which is why I am super excited to be a part of this blog tour that Made for Mermaids and Patterns for Pirates is putting on!

My office is far from fancy. In fact, its quite old and dingy and connected to a warehouse... I'm also the only female that works there, so for the most part, skirts are out for me, and I also don't like to wear anything too dressy either.... This is why the SOS pants are the perfection work bottoms for me!  They are still super comfy (shhh they are almost as comfy as leggings!) but look a lot more like "real" pants thanks to the pockets! I made this pair in a beautiful wine colored crushed velvet from Hobby Lobby.  I was a little nervous this would be a little too far outside of my normal comfort zone, but these look fantastic and are so comfortable to boot!  I wanted to keep the top sort of simple since the bottoms are a little wild, so I chose to make a Mama Tara top. It has simple lines, but a little bit of added interest with the front drape.  I didn't want just a solid top though, so I used this slinky black fabric I had in my stash that has some amazing raised gold pin dots on it.  Its still a subtle pattern that it doesn't compete with the texture of the pants. I had gotten this as a remnant at Hancock Fabrics years ago (well before they closed, sniff sniff) and had never found the right use for it until now! I did modify the sleeves to be above the elbow by taking 1.5" off the length of them, and I also made the neckline slightly narrower to give it a more dainty look.  I cut my neckband at 1.75" instead as I thought a narrower neckband would pair well with the dressier fabric.

I only work 2-3 half days a week, so I don't need a "full" professional wardrobe, and the best part of these pieces is I can totally pair them with other items in my closet to tone them done a bit and wear them for every day wear!  The top works just as well paired with jeans, and I've already worn the velvet pants with a more casual cardigan for every day wear too!

I hope you've gotten a little inspiration from my outfit for your own professional-wear looks! I plan to build on these pieces to create a work clothing "capsule" all centered around burgundy, black and gold. I love how the rich patterns and textures of these particular fabrics really dress up my very comfy outfit!

Be sure to stop by the other bloggers posts this week to see what all they have made. So many inspiring ideas! Find the blog post for each day below, which contains links to each bloggers site!

Day 1 : Day 2 : Day 3 : Day 4 : Day 5

Please note that this post contains links.  Some of these may be "affiliate links" which means that if you decide to make a purchase I get paid a tiny portion of whatever is purchased, but at no additional cost to you.  Affiliate payments go directly to my fabric fund to continue the cycle of sewing up or testing more patterns so I can share the love with you!

Patterns for Pirates - Linen Lounger pants

Although I do typically tend to gravitate to knit patterns, I am loving the recent trend by some pattern makers to include more woven patterns in their offerings.  I was lucky enough to test the newest pattern from Patterns for Pirates which were a pair of woven bottoms called the Linen Loungers.  The pattern includes hemmed pants or capri lengths, or two different shorts length options with either a cuff or curved hem.  It also includes either a elastic cased waistband or a knit yoga waistband. (helllllllo comfortable pants!) Two different pocket style options are also included (slat or patch) and an optional back pocket as well! There is also a kids version called the Little Loungers, and these are unique in the fact that they are unisex!

I made coordinating bottoms for my daughter and I during the testing period.  I made a pair of capris for myself and a pair of cuffed shorts for my daughter. (She made it clear several tests ago that she did NOT care for pants, and I haven't pushed the issue since! Somehow, shorts are perfectly acceptable to her though...) I went with the yoga waistband on both of our versions for comfort!  I used a linen fabric I found at Joanns in the red tag section about a year ago.  I think I paid like $3 a yard for it! The waistband is double brushed poly, and therefore amazingly comfortable!

I normally try to make more than one version of the pattern during tests, but I had alot going on in my life outside of sewing this week, so I only got to the shorts and capris this time.  I do have a pair of curved hem shorts cut out for myself out of some awesome tencel denim. I can't wait to get them made up! Definitely will be making up many versions of these for me and BOTH kids!

Please note that this post contains links.  Some of these may be "affiliate links" which means that if you decide to make a purchase I get paid a tiny portion of whatever is purchased, but at no additional cost to you.  Affiliate payments go directly to my fabric fund to continue the cycle of sewing up or testing more patterns so I can share the love with you!

Portlander Pants

Small sampling of Pinterest Inspiration

Small sampling of Pinterest Inspiration

There are a bunch of beautiful,  floral wide leg lounge pants that show up in my Pinterest feed several times a day....  I have been absolutely swooning over them, so I took a little bit of time and fabric from my stash and made myself a pair using the Portlander Pants pattern from New Horizon's! (It was released prior to the name change, so you may remember it being from Terra's Treasures before she changed the pattern company name, just an FYI!)  The one thing missing from the "Pinspiration" pants is POCKETS!  If you've been following me for a while, you know that pockets are life and 90% of the time I will pass on a pattern if it doesn't have pockets..... Thankfully, there is a blog post on the New Horizon's website with a tutorial and extra pattern piece so that I could add some patch pockets to the front of the pants, therefore making them EVEN BETTER than the "pinspiration" pants!  :)

For my pair, I used a couple of amazingly soft rayon blend French Terry fabrics to make sure they are the most comfortable lounge pants around!  The floral print is from So Sew English, and comes in a couple other color ways as well.  The solid waistband is very lightweight, and ultra soft.  It is the perfect true "oatmeal" color I have been searching for!  I found it at Love Adore knit fabrics, and also grabbed a royal blue and black because one can never have enough solid color french terry's on hand! (or so I like to tell myself...)  These pants came together very quickly, and are exactly what I was looking for!  If you want to recreate these popular pants for yourself, you can grab the copy of the pattern here, and don't forget to check out the blog post mentioned above for adding the pockets!

Please note that this post contains links.  Some of these may be "affiliate links" which means that if you decide to make a purchase I get paid a tiny portion of whatever is purchased, but at no additional cost to you.  Affiliate payments go directly to my fabric fund to continue the cycle of sewing up or testing more patterns so I can share the love with you!