Risa Strobel

I am completely head-over-heels in love with this gorgeous German gown! Wow! I've already warned Risa that I might steal this dress if I ever find out where she lives, and if that doesn't work, I may just have to, *ahem*, borrow her color scheme and design! Risa has a bunch of other wonderful pictures of this outfit that are definitely worth checking out, and she has also shared some great notes about the construction that you can read below the picture!

This gown is made, for the most part out of very heavy wool felted in my washing machine. The bodice pattern is actually based on Jennifer's Florentine bodice pattern, altered to fit my much larger figure. It's lined with burgundy cotton flannel, as a was sewing at a friend house, and neither she or I had anything else with us. The bodice closes in the front with hooks and eyes, which gap horribly. I'm not quite sure what to do about that. You can't see the gap in this picture because I whipstitched the opening closed to take a few good pictures. The skirt is box pleated to the bodice with single pleats everywhere except two pleats in the back where I made double pleats to take up extra fabric. I don't have any documentation for the cutwork that decorates the guards and the sleeves. I saw a picture of another reenactor's German gown on a website and liked the cut guards look, so I shamelessly stole the idea! I am wearing a hemp boned corset under this gown, which isn't as obvious as I would like it to be because I made the waist of the gown too big. I'll have to take it apart when I get the time. The corset is great. It smooths me out and provides a great silhouette for this look. The caul is made from a bit of weird changeable polyester fabric that is pre-embroidered in gold with vines. A friend of mine stitched a few garnet beads onto it and I gathered it onto a band while waiting for a different friend to show up so that I could use her machine to make buttonholes. Future plans for this outfit include a big feathery floppy german hat and a caplet thingy for when it's cold. (Despite the heavy wool I froze the first time I wore this dress.) I am undecided as to whether or not I want to sew pearls onto the dress on the guard and sleeve bands without the cutwork. If you have any questions or want to know any more about this dress, feel free to e-mail me at rstrobel(at)cats.ucsc.edu.