Stepping Outside My Viking Comfort Zone: Late Elizabethan Smock 1580-1600.
Side details of the smock construction and embroidery
Embroidery, sleeve, and gusset construction work on the smock.
Gusset construction prior to embroidery.
Details of the neck gusset on the smock.
Image of the smock showing the sleeves, cuff and neckline details.
Details of the embroidery on the smock underarm gusset.
Photo of the insides of the underarm gusset, showing stitch details.
A full length image of the garment showing fit, style and wearability.
The garment, a late Elizabethan Smock was chosen to stretch my capabilities as a seamstress. I used a number of extant garments as inspiration. Links are listed below. This is my first attempt at a garment outside my normal SCA timezone.
3 yards of 4 ounce linen natural/ecru coloured.
linen thread
2 yards of cotton linen mix lace
15 yards of pearl cotton embroidery thread. green, dark green, ecru colours. I used this thread, as I didn't have the equivalent silk embroidery thread.
hand needles of various sizes
wooden awl
seamstress chalk
I drafted a pattern using bits and pieces of smock patterns in PoF4. #77 and a bit of #78m as embroidery covered up part of the smock, yet the pattern was clearer.
After cutting the pattern adjusted to my size, I hand stitched everything. I did the gussets, gores, collar, and cuffs first. Then I assembled the rest of the garment. I used a running back stitch, backstitch, running stitch and felling stitch. The collar front opening and cuff openings are narrow rolled hems. The cuffs have handworked eyelets. I used finger loop braiding to make the drawstrings. All of these techniques are appropriate for the era. I used a cross stitch and chain stitch for the embroidery.
The only item I didn't make was the lace. However, it looked very similar to lace used on a number of examples seen online and in PoF4.
Were I to make another smock of this style, I would make the neck gores a little bigger at the point where it meets the collar.
