My mother will be attending my baby brother’s graduation from Emory this spring and has been really nervous about finding a suit that will look great for the ceremony as well as for dinner at a very special restaurant in Atlanta. She is an older plus-petite lady and has had great difficulty finding something that fits the bill, so I wanted to suprise her with a well-fitting garment so that she can be nervous about other things like Grad School Tuition. haha.

I am searching for a pattern that might be similar to one she had years and years ago. She described it as plain, semi-fitted jacket / skirt combo. The Jacket had a princess neckline, fitted sleeves, single side bust darts and buttoned in the back with 1/2 round self-fabric buttons. The skirt was form-fitting partially down with a little aline schwing to the bottom, but just slightly. The jacket and skirt were lined, with the skirt lining being a partial lining (1/2 slip type). A small indiscript kick pleat at the back and two small gathering points in the front at the fitted waistband. The original suit was made from a black summer tweed.

Here is the fabric that I ordered today from Sawyer Brooks, it’s called Confetto/Winter and I ordered five yards of it. It was the closest I could get to a ‘summer tweed’ in black. I hope she does not mind the flecks of color in it, I think they are pretty ‘quiet’ in the picture.:

The description reads: Soft black tweed base supports flecks of primary colors giving life to a classic suiting. Great choice for temperate climates. 61% linen/39%viscose. Imported from Italy.

I think it is just lovely and should look very classy. I hope she likes it – of course – if she doesn’t – I will just have to take it off her hands.

If I cannot find a pattern to draw from then I will try drafting her one. So, If anyone knows of a pattern out there that might fit the bill (at least for the semi-fitted princess neckline jacket – I’ll take it from there… ) P-L-E-A-S-E let me know??