Striped Gothic Fitted Dress(es)

I was lucky enough to find TWO linen blends in 2024 that had a convincing 14th century stripe pattern. All the glorious reproduction striped wool comes from tiny vendors in Europe so I'll have to deal with my linen imitations for the time being. The most challenging part of these projects was that the stipes on both fabrics went along the length of the fabric instead of the width. This meant my body pieces had to be laid out along the width of the fabric, instead of along the length. Luckily I am quite short and the fabric was 58-60" wide so I was able to make the body pieces without piecing. 

I did not  really document the creation of either of these dresses primarily because I was not working on any new techniques. I made both using my standard 4-piece gothic fitted dress pattern. I did have to piece the sleeves of the green dress because I did not quite have enough fabric but piecing is period and I'm honestly impressed at how invisible it is hidden in the stripes. 

The only photos I remembered to take during the process:

Overall, I love both dresses. They pull on without closures and fit a little more loosely that my typical, higher class and later 14th century styles. This makes them very easy and comfortable to wear in my hot climate. They are good middle/working class garments of the time although they would have been made of wool historically (or silk if you were rich).