Striped Gothic Fitted Dress(es)

This page is a work in progress

I did not 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 it's barely noticeable hidden in the stripes. 

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 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. 

Overall, I love both dresses. They pull on without closures and fit a little more loosely. 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 or silk if you were rich historically).