A Medieval Lady's Smock

I put in the last stitches for my 14th century underwear today. The smock took only a few days to make and now that it is finished, I can fine tune the kirtle mock up fitted overtop of it and start the gown at last.

And there ya have it, folks. The underwear of a 14th century lady. As Edgar Allan Poe so poignantly put it (although in reference to a tapping), only this and nothing more.

I made mine based on the square cut method. I used a big rectangle for the body, two triangles on each side for the width at the hem, two rectangles narrowed at one end for the sleeves and squares for the gussets. It actually took me longer to cut this out than to sew it together. Because this fabric does not tear, I had to pick out individual threads to mark the dimensions and cut along the line the removed thread left. Can I say tedious? But it is done now and I am happy with the result though I wish I had made the smock a bit longer. It is currently mid calf length but I think a few extra inhes would not have hurt anything. Oh well. No one will see this, anyway.

Last fitting for the kirtle tomorrow, hopefully!

The Smock Pattern Generator

Medeival Smocks - Documentation

Love,
Sarah