It may be hard to see in this semi-fuzzy picture, but there are little tabs here at the neckline. I am such a sucker for little tabs, which I think I have actually sewn only once.

I think this would be cute sewn up in a silk print, because of the drapey neckline and the panel-y skirt, although maybe it would also work in Liberty cotton (easier to put pockets in the panels in cotton)  … I bought this awesome orange silk a while back and it keeps whispering to me. Or actually, shouting: “Make me … NOW!” It’s getting hard to ignore, and to explain to my family why I’m having calm and reasoned discussions (“You need more attention than I can give you right now, you’ll just have to be patient …”) with pieces of fabric.

The expression on the face of Blue Dress tickles me, too; it’s something like “I’m going to just rest my unfocused eyes somewhere up there until Daisy there stops doing whatever embarrassing thing she’s doing right now.”

A few weeks back I took a look at the laundry pile and thought “I need to make another 1577.” So here it is:

Here’s a better look at the bodice, which is Liberty city poplin ordered in a weak moment from Shaukat:

And here are the pockets:

As usual this dress is super-comfortable, with huge pockets (I can fit a whole Moleskine notebook in one). This particular Liberty print, as well, is super-powered — I’m traveling in it today because it is SO BUSY that it’s nearly impossible to stain. Seriously, I bet I could take a full ketchup dousing and come off fine. It’s that good.

Speaking of Liberty, I just noticed that Shaukat has a new category — “Seymour Stretch Poplin“. Has anyone sewn with this yet? Supposedly it has 2% elastane, which is a good thing, but they also say it’s lightweight, like Tana lawn … it’s so pretty, though!

I like this pattern (McCalls 6402) because I think that views A/B are ripe for pocketization. C too, but that’s not so much of a challenge. (D/E: please to ignore.)

Doesn’t it seem as if you could hang a couple of pocket bags off that curvy main piece and boom, pockets? I still have to actually BUY the pattern and check it out, but it seems so plausible. (Of course, all my worst ideas seemed perfectly plausible at the outset …)

My other idea for skirt B here is bright pink satin with a yellow lace overlay on the main pieces. Not so plausible, but a hell of a lot of fun, right? Also, the lace overlay will hide the creases-from-when-you-sat-down marks on the satin! Not sure either 1) what I’d wear with it (black t-shirt and Jack Purcells?) or 2) where I’d wear it (Bollywood-themed party? Nightclub Easter-egg hunt? A locked ward?), but man oh man that hasn’t stopped me thinking about it since I saw this pattern in the last issue of Threads.

So, weigh in if you can as to where you see this on the pocket difficulty rating scale (with “1” being “They make themselves and fill up with candy when you’re not looking” and “10” being “Can only be achieved by dousing the fabric liberally with antimatter”) and also on the potential wearing opportunities for a bright pink and yellow satin and lace skirt (given that I am a 40-year-old mom and most of my social events involve stick-on nametags). All letters answered by return of post.