Mending Week - Medieval Dress

About 5 years ago (wow, 5 years already! And at a time when I thought that all medieval dresses had to be velvet), the bf and I and some friends went to the Joust. At the time this was a huge festival and it was the first year of having a medieval banquet of the night before. We even had a private concert by the Mediaeval Baebes! Sadly the festival went bankrupt due to flooding but I think they're up and running again now.

A lovely banquet of course called for a lovely dress and I had this fabric lying around that I once bought for only £5 at the charity shop. it had a good few meters so enough to make a lovely dress. I had it all planned... and then discovered that the fabric was stretchy so all the plans went out the window. The entire dress was made without a pattern and had a empire line and 4 panels. The ribbon was handstitched on and the back had to be tied as the ribbon doesnt stretch but that part of the dress really does! The end result wasnt too bad:

I even made a matching handbag! Really, the handbag was my pride and joy... I loved this dress and actually managed to ignore that it was about 10cm too short. At least! Such a shame, this would have been sooo pretty with those extra inches. Yes, I could have added some extra fabric but that would have looked even worst so I just left it. Well, no more.

Remember what I said about going mini? Well, I thought the same with this dress. Stretching the fabric while sewing made it even more ruffly and I love the result:

Yes, before you say it, when I saw this my first thought was also that of an Irish dancer LOL but I just love this dress and now that it's mini I can even wear it in summer. I cut to just above the knee as I didnt want to make it too short. And with the remaining material I can even make a new handbag :) Maybe even trim the hem... though that might be too much. I still have to work out the top ribbon, but thats something to worry about later. At least it's wearable again :) Oh yes, it was so obvious that I made this like 5 years ago, I left sooo much fabric at the hems! I cut it all off and it is much more comfy now :)

Comments

  1. Jill18 April 2011 at 06:40

    I've always wanted to go to a medieval banquet! Love your dress - both the long and the shorter more 'modern' version! and what a bargain find for the fabric too!! Great work!

    Jill @ Creating my way to Success
    http://www.jembellish.blogspot.com/

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  2. Anonymous21 April 2011 at 18:08

    I love the shorter version more than the longer one, but it's so very nice, too. When my daughter was in high-school, her class had a medieval banquet that we attended. It was so much fun seeing all the kids dressed up and the way they talked like in medieval days ... table decorations, etc. It was great! Thanks for the memories!

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