I know Chambray Week is over but I couldn’t resist sharing this polka dot chambray Gemma tank that I made to beef up my basic work wardrobe.

This chambray is a lightweight rayon, which was perfect for this Gemma Tank.  While this pattern works nicely in a stiffer fabric like voile, lawn or even quilting cotton, I really like it in something drapier like rayon.

Sadly this rayon chambray is sold out, but Cali Fabrics stocks several other rayon chambrays that would work really nicely as would the broad selection of rayon challis.

But my goal here is to share some of the work basics I’ve been making from my Cali fabrics.  A woven tank gets a lot of wear in my wardrobe, but these black Sasha Trousers get even more wear.

For these, I used a midweight stretch rayon crepe, and it could not have been more perfect for classic work trousers.

I overexposed these images so you can see all the details, but the actual color is a nice, dark black.  It has great stretch and recovery, and sewed up beautifully.

Black pants may not be the most exciting project ever, but they are already one of my most worn handmade pieces.  I’ve worn these at least a couple of times a week since I made them.

The fit on these is just about perfect.  I altered the waistband so that it’s even more curved, and they’re really comfortable.

In the end, I used these fabrics exactly as I intended when I acquired them, which is almost unheard of for me — sticking to a plan definitely is NOT my strong suit.  But I’m glad I did in this case sine I ended up with two staple pieces