Art with My Needle ~ Week 25
The smocked dress
Right, hands up all who remember or wore a smocked dress or romper suit. I know I certainly did, although the only photo I can find today was taken sixty years ago.
Originally derived from the Saxon tunic the smock comprised two rectangles joined at the shoulders and the sides, with two smaller rectangles folded lengthwise and joined at the shoulder level to form the sleeves. In Under Greenwood Tree, Thomas Hardy in 1871 described the ’smock-frock’ as ” a long white smock of pillow case cut”.
The smock-frock varied in style according to district, occupation and occasion. It was worn by many rural labourers and tradesmen to protect their everyday clothes, or perhaps to hide their shabbiness, it was the shepherd’s smock that blossomed into a highly decorative style. Annual hiring fairs were the equivalent to the employment exchange or agency of today. It was where a large crowd of workers congregated in anticipation of future work. A clean smock presented the labourer with his best advantage…. he was hired on face value! It was important to him as well as to the employer that his trade could be easily identified by what he wore or carried.
Smocking has evolved over the years and can be worked on almost any fabric, but some fabrics lend themselves to the technique more than others, as they provide a natural grid for the gathering threads. These include ginghams, and spotted and regular striped fabrics, which also give an interesting visual effect when finished.
A sample of smocking on a spotted fabric. These spots were used for gathering the fabric on the reverse side. The gathering rows were evenly spaced to cover the whole area to be worked. Once the required number of rows gathered the threads were slowly and carefully pulled until the fabric formed even ‘reeds’ or ‘tubes’ on the front of the fabric. Then the long threads were tied in place on the back of the work.
Then and only then can the fun begin.
Suggested stitches include:
- Outline
- Wave and trellis
- Vandyke
- Honeycomb
- Chevron
- Cretan
- Feather
Finally when the surface stitches are complete and you are satisfied with the overall look, then and only then remove the original gathering threads.
Reverse side of the sample above with gathering threads removed.
Rummuser said,
February 10, 2010 at 12:15 pm
Good Lord, GM. If my mother had ever got me to wear one of those things, my father would have thrown a fit! How can I possibly raise my right hand?
Magpie11 said,
February 10, 2010 at 12:32 pm
I have searched all over for examples of Old Agricultural Smocks to no avail. Each area had its own patterns as did each trade I believe.
Rather like Fishermen’s jerseys. These were different for different ports. Supposedly for identification purposes in case of drowning. I don”t know how true that was.
Magpie11 said,
February 10, 2010 at 12:58 pm
I spoke too soon:
http://www.battlemuseum.org.uk/artefacts.htm
http://www.yeoldesussexpages.com/folklore/folklore.htm
This comes from The British Journal of Nursing April 1928:
One of the real old English crafts is smocking.In living
memory there are many country folk who have seen the old
labourer or shepherd in his smock. There are many
exquisite specimens of stitches in some of these beautiful
old garments, which are likely soon to be relegated to the
museum. Most counties had their own time-honoured
patterns of smocking. There was, for example, “ cartwheels”
for the carters’ smocks, the Rake and Rose
pattern for the gardeners, the shepherd’s smock with the
crook, and many others.
As Miss Jekyll points out in her delightful book,Old
English Household Life,” smocking arose as a necessity of
construction, for neither body nor sleeves mere cut into
shape. The lengths of close-woven linen were left full
width, and the smocking over the chest and wrists occurs
where the fulness was drawn up into close gathers. The
smooth, close-woven linen would turn a surprising amount
of rain, and the smocked parts which gave great protection
to the chest were almost impervious to wet.
I think the Miss Jekyll has to be Gertrude the friend of Lutyens and Garden Designer worshipped by many to this day.
I did once wear a Somerset Shepherds Smock which now resides in Canada..it was HEAVY. I have a feeling that there is a picture of me as a very young child in a shirt with smocking.
kenju said,
February 10, 2010 at 2:47 pm
I used to love smocked dresses for my girls!
Love your photo - so cute!
Grannymar said,
February 10, 2010 at 4:29 pm
Ramana -
I can just imagine you in a smocked romper suit. I promise not to tell Maynard!
Magpie - One of these days I must find you an award for research from the Grannymar school of trivia!
As usual you come up trumps, even if it is via the spam bucket. My blog seems to object to two or more links in a comment. The links are great. Yes, that is the same Gertrude Jekyll, an amazing lady.
The Irish Aran Sweaters made in years gone by with the unwashed sheeps wool to preserve the oils in it and make the garment waterproof, were the garment of fisherman. The sweaters weighed a ton and certainly kept out the elements. In the natural state they were not the pure white of the merchandise today so prized by the tourists. Each harbour area or boat crew had their own pattern and usually an initial of the wearer was sewn into the garment. This initial helped with identification in times of disaster.
Judy - I always loved those dresses. Alas, my Elly hated dresses FULL STOP! I know I had several smocked dresses when I was young, but could not find another clear photo.
Alice said,
February 10, 2010 at 5:42 pm
Oh yes. The smocked dresses I remember well. I don’t remember having one myself but I was crazy about dressing my two daughters in them. The Polly Flinders brand that was so popular here (in the south at least) were very expensive but there were outlet stores up the gazoo and I’d visit them everytime we visited Florida. Then I learned I could make my own smocking-style dresses by holding elastic threads inches apart in place on a plain piece of fabric, and sew a zig-zag stitch all along its length with the sewing machine. After a dozen or so rows, voila! Easy smocking. Sew the seams together, add a couple of little straps and you have your own smocked sundress. Actually, I would later learn my girls really hated those frilly things and were only too happy to replace them with “real clothes”–blue jeans!
Darlene said,
February 10, 2010 at 6:20 pm
I have always loved smocked dresses and never had one that I can recall. I did dress my daughter in smocked dresses, but never knew how to do the smocking myself.
When Gail was small I was able to dress her in the way I wanted; frills, ribbons, pleated skirts, etc. About junior high age she rebelled and to this day we disagree on clothing styles.
Brighid said,
February 10, 2010 at 6:45 pm
I had a few smocked dresses as a child, loved them. Could not afford the pricey ones for my daughter, so like Alice (pattern above) I made them for her. They were inexpensive, lasted quite a while and could even be worn as smocks over the ever present jeans.
Grannymar said,
February 10, 2010 at 6:56 pm
Alice - I remember those little summer dresses, Elly had a couple but she was happier in shorts or jeans. Even on her wedding day she wore trousers.
Darlene - If I had produced the frills buttons and bows look, Elly would have left home….. Now why didn’t I think of that all those years ago?
Grannymar said,
February 10, 2010 at 7:23 pm
Brighid - Our problem - the weather was often unsuitable for those dresses so they were passed down the line to the next young lady in the family.
Baino said,
February 10, 2010 at 7:39 pm
I totally had those as a child. I have a zillion photos of me in a smocked dress and all hand made by my grandma’s neighbour. Very detailed and pretty.
elly said,
February 10, 2010 at 7:49 pm
I really didn’t like dresses as a child, as most of them were scratchy. Even now I live in jeans most days, but have a few dresses in the wardrobe for special occasions.
I was at a funeral today and wore a grey wool knee length dress over black leggings as it was so cold. We had to dash back to Dublin afterwards as I had a meeting I couldn’t cancel, so I was found changing my clothes round the back of the car after - carefully planned so that I put jeans and furry boots on over the leggings (lots of extra warmth) and pulled the dress off (I had a vest top underneath) and substituted it for a jumper - cosy and comfortable in 2 mins flat!!
Grannymar said,
February 10, 2010 at 7:55 pm
Baino - In our day it was easy to tell the difference between the girls and the boys. Handy having someone in the family or almost, to make the dresses!
Elly - You will be buried in jeans!!
Magpie11 said,
February 10, 2010 at 9:01 pm
I like oiled pullovers, Herdwick wool by choice… amazing smell… can’t be allergic to Lanolin though.
As for awards for research…well no thanks as it so often improves my knowledge.
Brighid said,
February 10, 2010 at 9:31 pm
The weather is not always nice here, so I often put a turtle neck and leggings under her dresses. Sort of a Hanna Andersson look. Two of my grandaughters are dress wearers, even with their cowboy boots. We’re just a bunch of ranch babes, and I don’t think I’d have it any other way.
Grannymar said,
February 11, 2010 at 12:07 am
Magpie - I didn’t like that smell or indeed the feel of the natural unwashed wool.
Brighid - Let them be comfortable or you will be reminded for life about the ’scratchy’ dresses!
wisewebwoman said,
February 11, 2010 at 2:22 am
You reminded me of Viyella, GM, smocked viyella: my beloved Auntie Daisy, whom I wrote about, would make them for me and make matching ones for her own daughter. Elly should have worn viyella, it never scratched!
Xo
WWW
Conrad said,
February 11, 2010 at 2:26 am
Those cretan stitches sound pretty close to the way I sew!
Grannymar said,
February 11, 2010 at 9:35 am
WWW - There was nothing to compare with smocked viyella. Elly remembers later dresses and tars them all with the one brush. She was only happy in jeans and jumpers.
Conrad - My school day sewing was quite atrocious. I did all kinds of beautiful mile high stitches…. pity they were meant to be tiny.
Magpie11 said,
February 11, 2010 at 7:46 pm
I love my Viyella shirts when I can buy them…plain fronted of course!
Grannymar said,
February 11, 2010 at 7:53 pm
Magpie - I bet they are cosy in this weather.
goodnightgram said,
February 12, 2010 at 9:35 pm
Mom made ours for Christmas in plain red fabric with white stitching. Whew - could it be over 50 years ago already? That’s a long train ride to the Land of Much Younger Days, eh?
Grannymar said,
February 12, 2010 at 9:56 pm
goodnightgram, Red fabric always seems to suit smocking. With the regulation Peter Pan collar!