Simplicity Tudor chemise front (in progress) |
S 2621 Tudor "shift" back (in progress) |
Elizabethan smock - neckline detail (in progress) |
So ... is it a smock, a shift (as the pattern calls it), or a chemise? I've seen all of those terms used ... along with spelling variations to boot in contemporary quotes! Just like there are variations of how Shakespeare himself spelled his own name (he was also Elizabethan period), there just weren't set spellings at the time (tyme?) so the different terms may have had subtle differences in the garments described ... or not. It could just be regional variances within England (kind of like the regional difference between y'all and youse guys and you, the unspecified plural).
While I tend to use the term smock, shift is probably more appropriate for this particular garment, as the handkerchief linen is very lightweight and as the pics show, it's pretty see-through. Either way, the actual construction part is done. It does still need another pressing/attack with hot iron.
Now I need to unhose the neckline trim ... I'm not sure what exactly happened, but the trim pieces ended up just a smidge too short. So time to trot out my mom's "greatest secret of sewing": the secret isn't perfect mistake-free sewing ... it's knowing how to cover up your mistakes or, if they can't be covered up, how to make them look like intention design details. Right now, I am leaning towards seeing if I have green fabric that matches the embroidery thread to make squares in each corner, then satin-stitch them on with the white. Maybe even put a little white-stitched flower in the middle ...
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