1520s Kragengoller (Partlet)

This round style of Goller was worn by German women of all classes in early 16th century Germany, made of wool, velvet or brocade and sometimes lined in fur.

I have a lot of different types of Goller (simple linen, fine pleated, vest style in wool and damask) but I didn’t currently have a simple middle class Kragengoller (collar partlet) or Rundgoller (round partlet), although I had made several in past decades. It was high time to make another!

Both the simple black style and those decorated with black guards appealed, so perhaps a double-sided version might give me both.

Research & Design

Examples of the Kragengoller are easy to find, worn by women of all classes from farmer to noble, and are very common in the middle class through most of the 16th century. Similar partlets were worn in the Netherlands (eg De Verloren Zoon); the examples I’ve seen are all black, with no decoration.

My main inspiration for this Goller is the Welser Altar by Barthel Beham, which I saw in the Germanisches Nationalmuseum. It is quite small with a modest collar and black guards. Guards or stripes of various thicknesses are a common decoration, as can be seen in these examples.

Kragengoller were also seen in plain colours, often black, such as the Portrait of Clara Behaim below.

The fastenings are often unseen, or just the suggestion of hooks and eyes, but some examples show decorative fastenings. The portrait by Georg Pencz shows small buttons at the collar, and the panting by Gabriel Zehender has an ornate gold clasp.

The earliest examples (such as the Durer sketch above) have no collar, but later examples have a small collar with squared or rounded corners.

When I made this style many years ago, I used the first pattern in Köhler’s History of Costume, with excised diamonds providing the neck shaping (Köhler, 1963). This time I decided to try his second pattern, with the inset rectangular collar.

Textile Hausrat (Zander-Seidel 1990) notes that this style of Goller was made of many fabrics, including wool, silk, velvet and brocade. I plan to make this one of wool, with velvet guards.

Construction

I drew out the pattern using Köhler’s measurements and calculated the inset rectangular collar, then made a mock-up to test it. I tried it on over the top of an Unterrock, since this changes my shape and I want the front to sit neatly.

Köhler’s pattern was a great starting point, but the back was too full, the collar too high, it was too wide over the shoulders and too long at the front (but apart from that…. 🙂 ). Several adjustments later, I was happy with the fit and made my final pattern.

I cut the Goller in fine apple green wool (left over from my green Rock) and the lining in heavy well-fulled black wool – no need for any interlining.

After sewing and pressing the back seam, I inserted the rectangular collar, lightly clipping the seam allowance and clipping carefully into the corner. Although I sewed the main seam by machine, I hand-sewed the tricky corners to make sure they sat well. Happy with the result!

I pressed the seam allowances and pickstitched the seam for reinforcement and support. Then I sewed and pressed the black wool lining to match.

Next, some sampling. I placed various widths of ribbon and fabric along the edge until I was happy with the proportions.

I also wanted the guards to go right to the edge, like the Beham painting, so I made up some test samples. Option 1: wrap the guard over the edge of the green wool, then turn and hem the lining – but the thick lining made this very bulky. Option 2: bind the edge with the guard from the inside out – harder to do well, but a finer edge.

Decision made, I basted the layers together along the collar seam and the edges. I tried on the goller – and trimmed the shoulders a little more, then sewed the two layers together around the edge.

Now for the guards. I had two choices with cutting these – shaped to fit the curve, or bias cut and steamed to fit, so I made up more test pieces. Both would work, but I realised that the shape means it’s actually more efficient to cut a shaped guard out of the corner of the velveteen, than cutting a 1.5m bias strip! The front edges and neck are just straight strips.

I basted the guard to the inside edge, then turned, basted the edge, then measured and basted the inner edge. The collar and fronts went well, but I realised the back guard was too tight, causing the back of the Goller to buckle. ‘Turn of cloth’ made worse by the thick wool lining!

It needed extra ease in order to lie nicely around the back curve. I had to remove the guard, gather slightly around the critical area and then go through the process again – sew, turn, baste, measure, baste.

The corners were tricky. I butted the lower corners, but the collar was an acute angle. After playing with options, I decided to mitre the top corners, although I’ve not seen evidence of this approach in 16th century garb.

With the main guard sorted, I basted on the narrow ribbon stripe. I usually use masking tape as a spacer (as I did with my blue Goller) but didn’t have the right width, so I used a piece of the narrow ribbon. Once everything was basted, I felled the main guard and then the ribbon on both sides. The combined spacing means the guards hide the contruction of the Goller.

On the the fastenings. Some examples are simply worn open at the front, but most are worn closed, either with large ornamental claps or discreet hooks and eyes. Since I wanted this reversable, I decided to use an ornamental clasp on the plain black side to provide interest, but would not be visible when worn green side out.

I bought a ‘cloak clasp’ of suitable design, then found there was no way to actually attach it, so I drilled some small holes. I sewed the first half on, then basted the other side in place to ensure it sat exactly right. It was tricky sewing it neatly without any thread going through to the green side.

I was pleased with the finished Goller – a great addition to my middle class wardrobe, and two sides provide very different looks.

The striped side presents an excellent everyday look:

By contrast, the black provides a more formal effect and I love the subtle velvet edge:

Afterthoughts

The new cut was an interesting experiment. I’m not sure about the resulting angle at the front neckline – most examples I see have a squarer front collar line, but it does sit well. To change size, any adjustment should be made at centre back – both the main sections and the rectangular insert.

I made my life more difficult by going for two sides. In the end, it would have been less work to make two! Then I could have laid the guards over the edge of the green (and probably an interlining) and catch-stitched to the back before adding a simple lining. And then made the simple black one and lined it with silk or linen.

But I love how it looks – both versions!