(garb garb garb garb – I’m starting to bore myself, except I like garb garb garb garb)

Ta da!  A Luttrell Apron.  I’m going to enter this in Magna Faire (along with the Smocked Shirt).

MATERIALS

1. The threads are linen threads, either singles drawn from the fabric (for basic construction) or 16/2 100% linen thread sold as ‘Rainbow Linen’ in color R464 (for smocking stitches)
2. The fabric is natural unbleached linen (IL014, from fabrics-store.com) 5.9 oz/yd, 59" wide.

TOOLS

1. I used modern cotton/polyester thread to gather the smocking pleats.  These threads were withdrawn and discarded.
2. I used two sizes of modern steel needles, chosen according to thread used.
3. A modern pair of Gingher sewing shears.
4. A modern acrylic gridded ruler, to measure the smocking grid.
5. Pink tailor’s chalk.

TECHNIQUES

1. I cut the apron 28" wide before hemming to reflect current belief in household looms of limited width – however, since the modern wider width required some edge treatment, I opted to cut the apron a bit narrower under the pretext that this housewife used the dense fabric of the selvage for some other purpose, and also needed to bind edges on this apron.  (Perhaps the selvages were used for garters.)
2. All stitching is handsewn, no iron or pleating device touched the apron.
3. The three open sides of the apron are hemmed with a doublefold hem – 5 mm/7mm – and secured with a running stitch, using drawn thread.  I have learned on a practice apron that this narrow hem conveniently allows the knotting up of the apron to carry things securely.
4. The smocking pleating was achieved by drawing a chalk grid of eight horizontal lines, spaced 1/2" apart, and as many half-inch vertical increments as would fit across the hemmed fabric (~27).  I ran basting stitches on the grid intersections with doubled cotton/poly thread, and gathered the pleats on the threads, leaving the threads in place until the smocking stitches were completed.  Fingerpressing the pleats was sufficient to mark them due to the creasability of the linen fabric.
5. The smocking stitch used here is commonly called ‘honeycomb stitch’ and simply gathers adjacent pleats in a checkerboard fashion with several small stitches in place.  The thread is carried on the wrong side to the next gathering point.  Two rows are worked at the same time, so an even number of pleating lines are required.  I used three stitches at each gathering point for durability, having learned in my Man’s 16thc Germanic Smocked Shirt, that two will slip if put under strain, sacrificing the smocked structure.
6. The apron ties are two pieces, joined near the center with backstitch pressed open, and folded lengthwise.  A 5mm hem is turned under and slipstitched to the apron on right and wrong sides of the main fabric.  The ties are slipstitched closed for the rest of their length().
7. The apron was washed by hand, to remove chalk, and the flat parts calendared with a rolling pin to flatten them().

THINGS I WOULD DO DIFFERENTLY NEXT TIME

1. I’d like to use <30" wide fabric with selvages intact, and hope to gain weaving skills to create such.
2. I’ve found conflicting discussion about whether all aprons were as white as possible.  My intention was to have an attractive working apron, heavy enough to protect the dress underneath, that was patterned after a primary or secondary source.  As aprons, like underwear, seem to fall into the class of linens that were rarely preserved, I have leant heavily on the illustration appearing in Luttrell.
3. I’d like to find some embroidery motifs that would be appropriate for this apron, still bearing in mind that it’s supposed to be a working apron.

SOURCES

1. The Luttrell Psalter, page XX, as found at SITE, retrieved DATE
   1. SITE1
   2. SITE2
   3. SITE3
2. Source for stitches
3. Source for calendaring
4. Source for smocked stuff