From Woodland Fairy to Medieval Rock: My Ren Faire Outfit (Year Three, 2026)

Three years ago I sewed a corset in a week with zero lead time and called it a plan. This year I actually had time — and I used every bit of it. What started as a woodland fairy vision slowly evolved into something I can only describe as A Knight's Tale meets seventies medieval rock, and I am not even a little sorry about it.

This was also the first year I made a matching outfit for my boyfriend. One thing led to another and suddenly I had five pieces in progress, Thai silk lining from my grandma, vintage curtains from Idaho, and a bag to tie it all together. Let me walk you through it.

The Vision & The Fabric Run

I knew going in that I wanted greens and teals — woodland, cottage core, something that felt earthy and a little magical. I'd been inspired by Prairie Misfit's Corset Duster pattern for a while, partly for the silhouette and partly because of the way she styled it — mixing different fabric textures, incorporating vintage pieces, using what she had. That felt very much like my approach.

So I went to Fabric Planet and headed straight for the upholstery section. That's where I found it — a gorgeous floral-esque fabric in exactly the right colors. Once I had that as my anchor piece, everything else started to fall into place. I found cotton pieces that coordinated for the skirt panels, and then I went home and raided my stash. I had vintage curtains I'd thrifted in Idaho years ago that were perfect. A friend had gifted me green sheer fabric she'd thrifted herself. I had olive green cotton gauze. And I had lace trim — lots of it — inherited from my grandma.

The Corset Duster

The Corset Duster by Prairie Misfit Patterns was the centerpiece of my look. She also has a great video tutorial that I followed along with her pattern — highly recommend watching it before you start, it makes the construction process so much clearer. The corset piece itself is the upholstery floral from Fabric Planet. For the skirt panels I mixed several fabrics from my stash — the Idaho thrifted curtains, the gifted green sheer, and the olive cotton gauze.

One of the most helpful things I did was lay all the cut squares out on the floor before sewing anything. Seeing them together let me play with the arrangement and figure out how the colors and textures would flow next to each other — something you just can't get from holding swatches in your hand. Each panel is a different fabric and somehow it all works together. I used my grandma's inherited lace along the bottom hem, and for the corset lacing through the grommets I used bridal corset lacing from Amazon — it ended up being exactly what I needed and looked beautiful. (All my Amazon finds are linked in my Amazon storefront.)

I did make one small modification: the top piece ran a little smaller than my measurements, so I adjusted it to get the right fit. One of those things you only notice once you're in the middle of it, but a quick fix.

The Linen Dress

For my first faire I made a blouse with elastic bunched off the shoulders and gathered at the wrists — very billowy, very pirate-y, and I loved it for that. But this time I wanted something different. I was on the fence for a while about doing another off-the-shoulder style, and eventually I decided to try fluted sleeves instead. That one decision sent me down a full seventies and eighties rabbit hole and honestly I have no regrets.

I used the Victorian Nightgown pattern by RivaPattern as my base, but made it entirely my own. I shortened it into a mini dress, skipped the zipper, and lowered the neckline — that last modification came from a try-on moment where I knew immediately it needed to change. I bought white linen from Fabric Planet for this one, which gave it that perfect soft, airy quality.

The Briar Bag

I had some upholstery fabric left over and I wasn't about to let it go to waste. I used The Briar Bag pattern by NatalieCornes and lined it with Thai silk that my grandma had given me — the same silk I used for my boyfriend's vest lining. NatalieCornes also has a great video tutorial that I followed along with — highly recommend watching it alongside the pattern. The bag matched the corset and the vest perfectly, and ended up being one of my favorite parts of the whole look.

His Look: The Matching Vest & Shirt

I had enough of the upholstery fabric left after the corset duster and the bag, so I told myself: if there's enough, I'll make him a vest. There was enough.

I used the Men's Fantasy Tabard Vest pattern by MissViscidDesigns. I loved the collar, the sleeves, and the piping details on the pattern — it had exactly the right energy. We agreed to make it shorter than the original length, and I skipped the grommets and toggles on the front to simplify it. For the piping I used leather straps from Amazon, and for the side grommet lacing I used silver cord, also from Amazon. The lining is my grandma's Thai silk, which made it feel really special. He bought his pants and shoes from Amazon — we don't judge.

And then came the shirt. I used the Men's Boho Shirt pattern from Etsy and made it from old white linen bed sheets — I made this one early in the process, which turned out to be the reason I had to go buy new linen from Fabric Planet for my dress, since the bed sheets were fully spoken for by the time I got there. I followed the pattern as written, which means I only realized how deep the V neckline was once it was already done. He wore it anyway. He should've put sunscreen there.

The Full Look

My boots were thrifted, his shoes came from Amazon, and the rest was accessories and makeup. For styling I crimped my hair and made it big and wild — it felt right for the whole medieval rock direction the look had taken. Long dangly earrings finished it off. What started as a woodland fairy mood had somewhere along the way become something more like medieval rock — earthier, bolder, with more edge than I originally planned. I'm so glad it went that direction.

I documented the whole process on TikTok as I went — if you want to see the making-of in action, head over to @DesignsbyERB and you can watch it all come together from fabric haul to final fit.

The moment that made it all worth it: we stopped to buy beignets at the faire and the cashier complimented us on matching. Then she noticed the bag — looked at it, looked at the vest, looked back at me — and asked if I'd made it and if I had a booth there. That's the one. That's the feeling.

Year one was a last-minute pirate. Year three is a medieval rock moment with a matching boyfriend and a handmade bag. I can't wait to see what year four brings.