The new smock!

I thought that hand sewing a linen underdress would elicit more conversation on an airplane than it actually did. When I pulled it out on the first leg of our flight, the woman in the seat next to me exclaimed "Oh, look at you! What are you making?"

"A reproduction of a 14th century linen smock," I said, trying to keep from sounding boastful.

She took a sip of her tonic and lime and put her nose back into the Janet Evanovich romance she was reading.

And that was that. Well, what did I expect? And you know, if she had kept talking it probably would have just annoyed me. Instead I got to stitch in peace, like a little Tyrannosaurus Rex with my elbows crammed up close and my hands under my chin. I hate those tiny airline seats.

It was quick work to hem and whipstitch the smock together, and thanks to careful cutting, the sleeve cuffs and bottom hem landed on the pre-existing hem of the tablecloth and already had a nice finish on them.

The neckline is a bit lower
than my older one, but I like it .

Here you can see how I worked the existing pulled work into the smock design. And yes -- I cut the sleeves  into the body at an angle to save me the step of sewing in an underarm gusset.  

Details of the middle and lower hem.
Needs ironing!

I finished the smock faster than I thought I would, and then I didn't have any project to keep me busy on the flight home. And what a miserable flight it was! I think the air conditioning wasn't working properly. It was warm and stuffy, and the seats seemed even closer together than usual. Ugh. 

Now I'm home again, I've started work on the wimple and veil to go with my St. Birgitta's cap. Wait and see!