Katrina's striped gown from Tim Burton's Sleepy Hollow was on my to-do list for a very, very long time. The largest problem I had was being able to afford the large amount of expensive fabrics required while still being able to create other costumes. Finally, I decided to throw caution to the wind and drop several of my planned costumes for 2006 to make this gown come to life.

As 2006 marked the first year the Costume Track at Dragon*Con held their costume construction competition, I decided that I would not only enter this gown, but that I would do my best to recreate it as close to the spirit of the original as possible. Now, I don't have a Hollywood costume department's budget or resources, but I managed to make do with a lot of the harder to find fabrics and trims. After finding a supplier for the black and white striped satin (the hardest part), the rest started to fall into place.

Prior to making the black and white version, I made up a mock-up in a green and gold striped cotton, to make sure I was matching the stripes correctly. One of my challenges was that I found I could match the stripes on the front of the bodice, but I didn't have enough fabric to spare to match them on the back of the bodice. I finally decided I'd rather have the front stripes match than the back, since the back would mostly be covered by my hair.

This costume consists of five separate parts. There is a white cotton petticoat worn under the black and white striped satin skirt. The skirt has a drawstring waist and eleven yards of pleated ruffles in two rows around its hem. Worn over the skirt is a black and white striped stomacher, which is attached to a layer of canvas, then lined with black cotton. It is worn over a black satin steel boned corset.

Over everything is the polonaise jacket with 'zone' front. While it may appear the bodice fabric is actually one piece, which is trimmed to replicate the zone front, this is not the case. I managed to match the stripes on the front of the polonaise and stomacher well enough to create that illusion; something which I'm really pleased with. The polonaise attaches to the stomacher and skirt with hidden hooks and eyes, and the bustling effect in the back is created through a combination of creative draping and the addition of nylon net a few years later.

The polonaise was then trimmed with over 15 yards of white and black pleated satin trim, sheer white organza trim with a raw edge, and black Venice lace. All told, it took me around 20 hours to complete this costume, and it is one of the few that I am exceptionally proud of. I have worn it several times on several different occasions, and have reused the polonaise jacket as part of my Carnival Steampunk outfit.