All I want for Christmas is a...... plaid dress?

Ho ho ho, everyone!
Yes, it's drawing near now, isn't it?

When it finally dawned on me just how few weeks there are left until the holidays, I put my Victorian stuff aside for a bit. You have to make priorities, right?

You see, for the last couple of years, I've had grand plans of a plaid Christmas dress of some sort. But every year has been the same; so many plans, so VERY little time! Since becoming unemployed, that is not the case this year, and I will  finally (hopefully) have a me-made dress for Christmas! Yay :)
I opted for a dress not too dressy, just classic lines and a bit of grown-up appeal.

When choosing the pattern, I wanted one that had something new. I have never made anything with plaids before, so you would think that should be enough novelty for one project... But noooo.
Princess seamed dress for the win!

This is Maudella #5204, in a 35"bust.
I cannot find a year on it, but it's probably mid-sixties.

I think princess seams was why I initially bought this pattern in the first place, because the cover art design is not something that awakens my desire, if you catch my drift. Man, those ladies have properly sloping shoulders!! Luckily, the pattern inside was not made for nearly as extreme anatomical features, and my first muslin fit me beautifully with no alterations other than adding a smidge in centre front and back panel. I didn't take any photos before I took apart the pieces, to use as pattern for my fashion fabric.

Now, on to the cutting. I tried to be a brain-monster and get it all right, but you know how when you really concentrate on something, another detail that is usually a no-brainer goes wrong? Right.
So I managed to match the horisontal lines, but as I discovered when assembling the six main pieces, the two front sides, and the two back side pieces did not quite mirror each other. It is not anything glaringly obvious, but it is kind of annoying. I have extra fabric left, but I am still debating whether I'll make the jacket to match. I'll take some measurements of the faulty side piece, and if I can use it for the jacket, I might re-do. Otherwise, it is just a big waste of fabric for such a cosmetic flaw. So I am trying to live with it for now :)

Doh-moment!

I am sorry for this rubbish phone-photos, but you get the general idea. This is the back half of the dress on my ironing board, and as you can see, those two sides are not "on target". The front is better,

My plaid is a lovely wool blend fabric, that is nice and light. I will obviously need to line it because of the itch-factor, but I think I'll be fine on that one. My plan is to just make up a second dress in lining fabric and drop it inside. How hard can it be, right?

It's panning out to be a fun project with lots of new things to learn, and hopefully I'll have a finished dress to show you shortly! In the meanwhile, I wish you lots of success on your Christmas preparations ;)

Toodles!