Starting the Smock

The lovely Mr S and I walked the dobe this afternoon, as they were spraying the crops in High Field.  We stayed well clear but, by 5 o'clock, were nursing headaches and trying not to fall asleep on the sofa.  My plans to make my Elizabethan smock seemed to be disappearing fast.  So, after a shower, dinner and restorative glass of red, I decided that it was time to do something.  Perhaps not the best idea in the world...

I had cut the pieces for the smock out a few days ago.  The first step was to sew the neck lining to the main panel.  Instantly it was obvious that it was too small.  The smock is supposed to just be visible above the neckline of kirtle; the manual says that sometimes they would go as far as two inches above the neckline, for modesty or decorative purposes. I'm sorry but, at the risk of ruining whatever reputation I may or may not have, I am not that modest!  Or that keen on giant bands of decoration.  I have no idea how the pattern was supposed to work; I checked it twice, plus the instructions for how to get the measurement and gave up trying to figure it out.  The neckline just had to be adjusted.

Proof that it's probably best not to sew when frustrated, headachey, tired and a half a glass of wine better off,  I trimmed the neckline to within half an inch of the outside edge of the lining... all the way around!  Oops, I should have only needed to do the neck and back edges, not the sleeves!

But I like the shape, and I'm feeling stubborn.  I decided to at least get the side gores and a sleeve in to see if it was even possible to continue.  If not, whilst I sit by the pool in Florida next week, I could have some more cotton lawn being delivered in the post.  The instructions for fitting the sleeves are "light" to say the least.  I discarded them, I can see the final shape that I'm going for, so decided to do my own thing and then fit it to Miss G instead.

You can see the faint line of the corset underneath.  I think that the smock neckline may still be a little too high, though there will be some room for manoeuvre on me (Miss G's bust to shoulder measurement is a little longer than mine).  I know, finally, when I'm done so I'm quitting for tonight; but I'm going to persevere and get at least one sleeve sewn in as finished; try it on with everything else, for a proper fitting and see what's what.  Here's hoping my rather grumpy gamble pays off!