Renaissance Strawberry Dress

The bodice took several attempts to get right. I used the Tudor Tailor book to get a general idea of the shape and then did my best to drape it on myself. Once I felt the shape was right, I built it up with layers of canvas and felt pad stitched together, it still wasn't quite firm enough so I added some plastic boning to the sides next to where the lacing would go. I massively shortened the straps, and had to add ribbon loops instead of eyelets because the fabric was so prone to fraying. I had some more boning at the princess lines, but ended up removing them because they made the bust look odd. It is finished inside the bodice with a ribbon overlay.

On the back there are some patches made from red wool to protect some corners where the fabric immediately started to fray. I decorated with ribbon trim.

The skirt was relatively easy to put together, it was four panels of fabric made to measure from the floor to waist height. I then sewed pairs of panels into back and front panels before pleating them onto the front and back bodices. Then it was a simple matter of sewing up the sides to hip height and adding a thick trim along the bottom. I finished the bottom edge with hem tape, which secured the trim to the bottom of the skirt and kept the very fray-prone fabrics from turning into fluff.