I'm getting ready to go to
The Oklahoma Renaissance Faire (where I'll be performing all 5 weekends!) I've got a perfectly good
Moresca bodice and a nice Tudor-style skirt with false underskirt that I made to match.
You can see the white chemise I made in the picture above; it is one of two identical chemises. However, I'm going to be staying in Oklahoma from the 2nd weekend through the 4th weekend (camping), which means I'll need 6 shirts. I found the
Elizabethan Smock Pattern Generator (from the same awesome website as the Elizabethan Corset Pattern Generator), and was about to start making some smocks using that, until I realized that my new
Simplicity Pattern (#2621) has a smock (they call it a shift) which looks almost identical to the smock on the Pattern Generator. Since this Simplicity pattern looks like the result of some *actual research* on the drafter's part (a shock and surprise, I know), I think I'm going to go ahead and use it so that I can avoid having to draft my own pattern. Taking the lazy way out, aw, yeah... *grin*
I made the white chemises with
IL019 5.3 oz/yd linen from
Fabrics-store.com
, but decided I wanted something even lighter-weight for the next batch since it can get pretty hot in Oklahoma in May. So, I bought some
IL020, 3.5 oz/yd linen in a gorgeous
Cobalt,
Emerald, and
Clean Green. I'm going to use the Simplicity pattern to make four smocks/shifts, though I may not make all four knee-length as the pattern suggests. I have a thought that I might use one knee-length smock as an overdress, with a long skirt under it and a crop bodice over. Not exactly period-accurate, but I think it wouldn't look too bad and would certainly be more comfortable in 8-10 hours outside in the heat. Not sure though; I haven't found a really good pattern for a crop bodice, though. Does anyone know of one?
