HSM24: new clothes from old - the pink gown

 Back in 2022 I made a post proudly claiming that I would finally finished my pink trossfrau gown.  Well that never ended well. I got it into a wearable state, but I never finished the closure, instead I just pinned it together and I was so dissatisfied with it that I can't find a single photo of myself in it. It went into a bag to saved sometimes in the future.

With my weight loss journey the last year I decided that it was time to see if I could salvage it. I started with simply ripping off the bodice and the skirt. The bodice had always been a finished piece and the skirt were two lengths of fabric gathered together and whip stitched to the bodice. I also decided to see if I could change the cut of the skirt. I have more and more come to the conclusion that even if it's easier to just gather square pieces of fabric together, the more historically accurate way of making 16th century skirts is to make them as circle skirts. The two old pieces were enough to piece together an almost full circle, made up from gores. The end result is a skirt that is quite slim at the waist, but with a larger circumference at the hem compared to the first version. If I made a new skirt I would do gores, but I would like to make the skirt something like a 1,5 circle skirt and pleat in the excess at the waist. With the gores I had to cut the skirt shorter to fit them, so I haven't hemmed the skirt, just relying on the wool to not unravel to save a few cm in length.

The bodice was taken in quite a lot at the sides. For the sleeves I had to redo the upper part of the sleeve, thankfully the old parts were so big that I could cut the new part from them. They were to short though, but I added an extra strip of fabric to lenghten it, and then I added a decorative border over the seam to hide it. The lower parts could probably have been saved from the original, but I had lost one of them while they were in the stash, and there were enough fabric left from the recut skirt that I could make two new ones.

I also recut the neckline of the bodice, that was gaping on several places, but making it lower it fit much better. Finally the original gown had never gotten a finished closure so I made lacing holes to be able to close it at the front, and then I added more guards in a darker fabric at the neckline and sleeves. 

I wore the gown like this at Leksands medieval fair in May, and realised it was still way to big and bunching up a lot in the bodice.

So last week before leaving for medieval week in Visby I once again ripped off the skirt. I decided not to take in the width, that would have taken too much time to redo all the side and back seams. I big problem was that it was too long in the bodice though, so  I simply resewed the skirt on, but now 3 cm higher up to the bodice.

The new version worn without the lower sleeves.

I wore it like this in Visby. It is once again too big, I have lost more weight since May, but with the yellow kirtle under it it still looks nice. The bodice doesn't give any support, so when it was too warm to wear a kirtle, basically all the days, I wore it with my modern bra to get support for my breasts. I usually stay away from modern underwear to avoid a modern silhouette, but it was needed. I will probably take it apart and take it in again, and I need to make an underkirtle that isn't as warm as my yellow one.

What the item is: a pink trossfrau gown from 1510-1530
How it fits the challenge: The bodice was taken in and altered, the sleeves and skirt are totally recut from an older version of this gown that doesn't fit any more.
Material: and old pink wool gown
Pattern: my own
Year: 1510-1530
Notions: linen thread
How historically accurate is it? I actually think the cut of this version is more accurate, with a gored skirt instead of just gathered rectangles of fabric. I had to put some decorative bands on it to hide seams where I had pieced the sleeves together and that I haven't seen in sources, but somewhere around 75%. 
Hours to complete: it's been on and off during the last few months but probably around 20
First worn: Visby medieval week
Total cost: everything was made from the original gown, which probably cost around $150 for the fabrics originally

Finally my pink gown!

 So many years ago I bought pink wool to make a pink 16th century gown. It's been in my stash for a long time by now. Last year at medieval week in Visby I decided that I really wanted a new gown for the next year, since I don't feel pretty in my old dresses, especially compred to all the pinked and slashed gowns.

This is my main inspiration for the gown. It's a woman that can be seen in large painting "the triumph of emperor Maximilian". It is a rather plain main gown, but the sleeves gives it a bit more interest. Of course I would have to improvise the front, but there are so many images of fronts that it's not a problem.

I cut out the main pieces with the plan of sewing it together at the Medieval Fair in Leksand, well I didn't sew a stitch.

In the middle of the summer I sewed the bodice together - and had a breakdown. It didn't fit at all, it was full of wrinkles and I just felt fat and ugly in it. I have a lot of issues with my weight, since I have gained a lot over the last few years, and I can't really say why.

Anyway after a couple of weeks I took up the failed bodice again and ripped it apart. I decided to start over. I cut out another layer of lining to make it sturdier. I also decided to construct the bodice the 18th century way where you first make the lining, and then mount the other fabric on the lining. I figured that some of the wrinkles were probably because the lining and the outer fabric weren't perfectly matched to each other. I also decided to baste it all together on the machine before handsewing it. So I basted the two lining layers together and sewed them up, now with very small seam allowances to make it bigger and reduce the stress on the fabric.

mounting the outer fabric to the lining

Now I had a bodice that fit a lot better. I was also running out of time before medieval week. I had to reset the goal of finishing before medieval week. Instead I decided to aim for having it finished for Wednesday, when there is a big landsknecht march. I also decided that I needed to compartmentalize the project and break it down into smaller parts so that I get the big things done at home, and only have the smaller things left when I arrive in Visby.

This is the current state of the gown. The skirt, to the left, has been sewn together and the seams are felled. I have done gathering stitches on the maching so I can just gather and attach the skirt to the bodice. The olive fabric is a courser fabric that I have cut out a strip of to use as a hem guard. I made the gathering stitches on the machine since it's so much faster. I also had a discussion with myself on why I do things the way I do, and realized that since I'm not making this to dwelve deeper into the craft, I just want a pretty dress, then I'm fine with doing basting and gathering on the machine. Those are stitches that will be removed anyway.

The bodice is done except for the decorations that will go around the neckline and down the front. My original plan was to make eyelets to close it, and work on those on the ferry. I got a lot less stressed when I instead decided to go for lacing rings, which were used as well in the 16th century. I just need to go down to the medieval market and buy them.

The sleeves have been cut out, I was a bit stressed so unfortunately the top part is a tiny bit too short, but that's the way it is. I'm hoping to sew them together on the ferry, so I just have to attach lacing rings and sew them to the bodice when I arrive in Visby.

Will I have a new gown on Wednesday in Visby? We will see...