I found this amazing red-and-yellow chenille as a remnant at Joann’s. It was $6/yard! But sadly, there was only about 4 yards or so. It is soft and drapes nicely and the pattern is wonderful, not too naturalistic, and just about the right size. I love it like puppies and kittens. It is even more gorgeous in person. Anyway, it said “I want to be a stunning loose gown!” so I pored over Janet Arnold (the German loose gown with the cutaway front), since this time I’m going to pattern it properly instead of cheating and making it A-line like I did last time (which looks more and more wrong to me the more examples I look at of A-line loose gowns versus the on-the-bias ones). I used my new doublet pattern from Sasha as a base.

The yellow with red figures side:

The red with yellow figures side (which I decided to use because the kirtle is gold brocade and I like red, but it was a HARD decision):

Kaylie helping me cut out pieces:

Maia helping me. At least until she started attacking my fabric and I chased her out of the living room.

I will post pictures of kirtle fabric and finished garments later! The loose gown will be trimmed with white fake fur (I am trying to make this a SIMPLE project, so not cutting up and piecing rabbit skins) and closed over the bust with gold clasps (but not all the way down the front, ‘cos that would be expensive). Some of the portraits I’ve looked at do not have closures lower than the bust, even decorative ones, so I feel okay about that.

I’m planning on making a little red velvet Italian bonnet to wear with it…since so much of my fabric stash is red/maroon/burgundy, it should go with a lot of other things.

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