I don't think you really have to do much... it's the fabric that's making them look interesting.
The actual pattern looks pretty simple. On your block, just draw the side lines on the pant legs straight down or slightly flared from the hip (instead of tapered towards the ankle). Ignore any underlap pieces for the fly and put in a zipper straight into the seam on the front. They seem to have creases ironed into the front like on men's dress pants.
That's pretty much all.

The fabric is made this way so you can use a single layer to make a blanket without lining it - both sides are the "right" side in that case. Whenever I've used it with only one side showing, I just pick whichever side I think will look better for the project. The shorter fibers seem more durable looking at the fabric after a couple washes, but they don't feel quite as soft... the fluffier side gets matted together with washing more easily.

I finished another one of these yesterday.



One of the ears is floppier than the other, so they look uneven, but after re-doing it like 3 times I resigned to this.
Having a floppy ear is part of an animal's charm anyways, right? 

The fur is left over from this outfit, so I can have a hat to wear with it.
http://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?topic=357537.0



Thanks again for sharing the pattern! It's an awesome base to go off of (I've made some changes to it, but they're not obvious)

I can't believe I just ironed felt with an iron set to cotton. Instantly melts acrylic felt into a solid piece of plastic all over said iron. Most came off, but getting the rest off will require work.

I did something similar the other day: ironed reflective iron-on tape on the cotton setting instead of whatever the lowest one is. I still haven't been able to get all the plastic off either.

Is the girl in the pics the friend you made it for? she looks amazing.
I'm a fan of the vintage/pin-up look, and she really suits it. The dress looks fab on her.

Well done on making this fab dress!

Yep, she's the one I made it for. I'm with you, she really does have the look for it! Thanks!

I can't help too much with modifying patterns because I tend to just wing it, but a couple things...
If you don't want to start with a sloper, look for patterns that have similar seam lines to what you want to make. It's not too hard to move seams, but if you don't have to then that saves you time to focus on more complex mods. Trace the pattern you're using so you can keep the original to trace again in case something goes wrong (and it probably will, don't get discouraged, happens to everyone).
If you break up the ideas you have into smaller changes then it becomes less overwhelming. A pattern book can help you figure out the basic shapes and techniques to use, but you'll need trial and error to really know how different things work with different fabrics. (for example here's a book section on sleeves. This is my favorite resource though the page is now archived. http://web.archive.org/web/20070204015930/http://vintagesewing.info/1940s/42-mpd/mpd-04.html It's info for vintage styles, but the same techniques apply to anything you want to make).

I've sewn a good bit with vinyl. The biggest challenge is that it probably won't feed through your machine without a fight. I like to layer it between two pieces of tissue paper to get it going. Unless the vinyl is super heavy (think upholstery), I don't think there's a need for leather or heavyweight needles. Medium weight needles have always worked fine for me and leave smaller holes in the vinyl. When you're sewing it,the bigger/closer together the holes the more you weaken the vinyl so using a bigger needle might not be best. You also usually only get one chance at a seam because any stitching you remove will leave holes (pins will too, so either don't pin - use paperclips, tape, etc., or pin inside seam allowances.) Each "unusual" material you use will have it's quirks (heck, each "normal" fabric does too) but you can often google "sewing (type of fabric)" to find tips.

Modifying patterns and using weird materials can get really frustrating when things don't work, but it's also really rewarding when they do work, so don't give up!

Yes, I'll wear it out dancing. It moves really well since it's a circle skirt.

It's been quite a while since I posted anything, but here's a skirt I completed today. It was a pretty quick and straightforward project - two layers of vinyl cut like a circle skirt using my hip measurement for the inner circle, edged in bias binding, and a jersey waistband. I can do a tutorial if anyone is interested 

I've seen photos of these skirts before and figured I'd try making one of my own after I found this great translucent pink vinyl for $1.99 a yard.



The two circles laid out, ready for a waistband, which proved to be a little difficult to sew on because of how much less flexible than fabric the vinyl is and because I was too lazy to put tissue paper under it so it would feed well



There's a little more info on my blog (mainly a story about using dry erase markers on vinyl): http://as-i-sew.blogspot.com/2012/05/turns-out-frosted-pink-vinyl-and-dry.html

As usual, thanks for looking! All comments, questions, critiques are welcome.

After a quick google search to make sure I was remembering correctly, it seems wool is pretty resistant to burning. You can find wool felt in different thicknesses so you might be able to find one that will lay similarly to polar fleece, though it will probably get expensive to buy as much as you need. Flannel (cotton) might work though is much thinner (double layer maybe, or line with a different fabric?), especially if you find one that is meant to be used for kids pajamas since those should be flame retardant.

Minky is pretty easy to sew from my experience. Most fabrics that are very fuzzy or outright furry are quite forgiving since the texture hides little mistakes. More often than not it sheds like crazy when cut so watch out for that (and be prepared to find pieces of fluff for a long time).