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Medieval Stitchery: Completing The Sad Smock of Woe

A smock in medieval English (known as a chemise, camisa, camicia, and Hemd in other European languages) is shirt-like undergarment, usually made of white or undyed linen. Longer for women than for men, it was worn specifically to protect the outerlayers of clothing from the evils of the soot, oils and dirt that build up on our skin - the white linen undergarments could be laundered at high temperatures with caustic lye and not be damaged by the process, unlike fine wool and silk layers, which would be destroyed by medieval wet laundering practices. But more than this, these crucial linen layers also provided the comfort of evaporative cooling.

So smocks are a key component of my medieval wardrobe, which means they take a lot of wear and tear and need to be replaced occasionally.



Well, I started this sad smock back in 2018, entirely handsewn, as is my wont. And then we moved in 2019 from Korea to the US, and the movers just dumped it haphazardly in a box with bottles of mysterious oils and other liquids and bright red garments, all of which ended up staining the poor thing. But it remaiend forgotten in an unopened box until we moved again two years later, and I rediscovered it when unpacking, stains and all.

Me in full Burgundian 1470s finery. There is a smock under there somewhere...

And then it went through other staining trauma as I tried to finally complete it, a story I recount in this livestreamed sip n'stitch session in which I work to finish this poot garment and discuss medieval tailoring and sewing techniques, extant medieval garments, Korean medieval clothing, medieval laundering practices, and a host of other interesting medieval fashion topics.

Watch/listen and sew along, or just enjoy me holding forth!

Happy Creating!


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A place for people to discover the beauty of creativity, including dance, historic fashion, sewing and embroidery, the culinary arts, sustainable living, and medieval & Renaissance life!

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