The basic question goes like this: "Where can I get a pattern for a {insert social status here}{followed shortly by some sort of gender reference}?" There are basically only two answers to this question.

• You can visit a site like www.alteryears.com and order a catalog. As of this writing, it's five dollars, but you'll find every historical pattern you could ever want from a variety of companies.

  Advantages

  • The patterns are available now
  • They're reasonably priced, from $12.00 or so to $25.00.
  Disadvantages
  • They all assume a rather advanced skill on your part
  • They're not going to fit "out of the box", so to speak.

• Or, you can hire me to draft your patterns. I've been doing this for a decade and a half, and my portfolio speaks for itself, so you can feel fairly confident you're going to get what you want.

  Advantages

  • The pattern is going to be drafted to your measurements, and thus will need little if any fitting
  • You will have some say in the design.
  Disadvantages
  • I assume a rather advanced level of skill (just like the other pattern companies)
  • I hate to admit this, but it's more expensive. But I'll tell you this, in many cases, it's worth it to get a pattern that fits you the first time!