Sewing for Work

I recently made two items, from the Oct 2007 Burda World of Fashion magazine, to wear to work.
One is the popular, much reviewed jumper, number 121. Jumper, that is such a weird name for a garment if you think about it. The magazine called it a pinafore which is even worse. A pinafore to me is an apron type garment with a bib, worn over a dress. It is commonly worn by females under the age of 4 at dressy events. Imagine me waking up one morning and saying to myself “I think I’ll wear my gray pinafore to work today”. Anyway it is quick to make in knit (rayon polyspandex blend) fabric, comfortable to wear, and in dark grey, can be worn over a rainbow of different colored sweaters and blouses. The other item is the dress, number 117. I was intrigued by the origami type pleats used for shaping in the bodice. The magazine picture was a side view that didn’t show much. That caused me to think twice about making it. Was it so bad the stylist chose to hide the major details? I decided to proceed based on the line drawing. I wanted to use a plaid fabric, but a subtle one. I found a poly rayon blend with a dark grey background and a thin pastel pink and blue plaid. I really like how the dress turned out. The bodice pleats accent the horizontal lines of the plaid and they soar up and out on the sleeves. The changes I made were…1 Tapered the waist tucks into darts in the back. I think I will do the same to the front tucks. There is nothing like an abrupt change in a line to focus your attention on that area. 2. removed some of the bodice length for a SBA (small bust adjustment). And 3. lined the bodice and sleeves, eliminating the need for a neck facing.