After writing the last post, I went downstairs to take stock of the fabric I had and what the patterns required. My heart sank when I realized that I didn’t have enough of the black and white plaid to make the Butterick pattern.

Not to fear. I had a simple black cotton with tiny pin-prick polka dots — just barely enough to cut out the pattern, but it is now cut out. I’ve also cut out the pattern for my steampunk pants, and for the pink poodle skirt for my Rose costume.

Looking at the piles of patterns in my current “to be sewn” line-up, I’m struck with the realization that – for the moment at least – my projects are very retro. With the Butterick dress and the costume from Doctor Who, I’m delving into fashion from the 50s. The pants for Tesla are high-waisted and are reminiscient of Katherine Hepburn’s style around the 1940s.

Although the pants are being made out of a dark brown denim, there are aspects of the design that are definitely feminine. These are not simply guy’s pants, or even unisex pants. They are clearly intended for someone with hips. I still don’t know how the finished product will look, but I’m looking forward to trying them on.

The good thing about the three pieces I’m working on is that they are all pretty simple, straight-forward designs. The Butterick dress only has three pattern pieces. The Rose skirt is a circle skirt with an elastic waistband.

After the little black and white dress I finished recently (I haven’t photographed it yet…it’s having serious static problems), a simple, easy-to-follow pattern is just what I need. The afore-mentioned dress looked like it would be easy. It was basically an a-line dress with an overlay on the bodice. The pattern even allowed for upper arm coverage without the stress of having to sew set-in sleeves! Always a plus. I put the zipper in it the other day and tried it on, and realized it actually needs a little more length at the bottom for me to feel comfortable. It’s also really clingy and I can’t tell if it’s actually the fit of the dress or just the massive amounts of static cling that is causing that. I tried to work on it a little more but I was getting frustrated, and I thought it best to set things aside and turn to something else for a little bit.