Grey Corduroy Paneled Dress

 
Lately I have been exploring with different pattern-making and construction methods. I've learned A LOT from the internet, books, TV... we have been living an amazing revival, sewing and knitting have become popular again and one can spend hours enjoying the company, learning, sharing our doings in the net. It's wonderful!

But I still feel that the traditional method my mom taught me, as all the women in her time and place learned, beats all the other approaches I've explored. Maybe it is because I learned it so young, and it is hard to break a habit, but I think this is the most time-efficient, economic, most accurate (and yet it allows for modifications) method of all. I will still be using some individual commercial pattern with seam allowances included (though I hate them!), I will no doubt make my own patterns, o drape them over the dress-form, but if I can find a good pattern in a Burda magazine, I know it will be a sure bet.
I've had this corduroy in my stash for 2 or 3 years now. I bought it initially for Carlos, but I used it in the other colour I had and he broke the work trousers I made with it in a couple of months, so no more pants with this corduroy, too weak!
Then Tilly gave me (again) some inspiration:

This was just perfect for that old thin grey corduroy! Then I remembered I had marked a safari dress pattern in a Burda for a summer twill dress that was just the same!
I traced the pattern in sheer paper, cut it, pinned to the dress form, and I saw it was OK, only a little too big at the waist. The model in the magazine was made to wear a belt, so it had too much ease in that area.

I pinned the paper pattern on the folded fabric, cut it with 2 cm seam allowances all around, and marked it with tailor tucks.

I basted it together, and on the the first fit, confirming my suspicions, I saw it was too big: I had to take 1cm off every panel in the waist area.
The Burda pattern had short sleeves, so I enlarged them and used the cuffs of the previous dress I'd made.

That made it perfect. It gives me a good silhouette without even having one! It marks my waist being super comfortable to wear. A pattern to keep and use again. 

All seams are flat-felled and topstitched. I took it to the shoop to have the metal snaps put.