Mom's new Renaissance Faire Dress

A few days before the faire, my Mom declared that she wasn't sure what she wanted to wear but that she didn't want anything that would constrict her stomach. Okay, Italian it is!

I went through my fabric stash to see what I had when I realized I had a ton of the teal wool I bought last year from Fabric dot com. It's gorgeous stuff and a dream to work with as I found out. I had planned on making a dress based off this portrait for me:


However, I figured making it for Mom was just as good, right?

I had drafted the bodice using the dummy mummy (a duct tape double I made of Mom a while ago) and the measurements she gave me. The skirt ended up just being two big rectangles since I made the bodice side lacing. The sleeves are a trapezoid on the bottom sleeve and a very large rectangle on top. The top of the sleeve is gathered to a band that can be laced or pinned under the bodice strap. All very simple and it came out pretty elegant looking, I think:

Despite it being above 90F today, Mom wanted to wear the sleeves. She thought the dress was cuter with them. :-) They lasted for about a half hour at faire - which isn't bad. She did get a compliment on her garb which made Mom very happy. She did look cute in it. :-) Of course, she wants something completely different now so back to making something else.