Smocking

Smocking History

EARLY HISTORY
The first mention of fabric pleated was a Danish archaeological dig in 1175 BC. Smocks originated in the Iron Age from the rural tunic, a knee length garment, made of coarse, probably homespun, wool, cotton or linen, natural coloured, blue or sometimes a mauve red. Blue was known as a poor man’s colour in England. The English often had gloves or mittens hanging from their belt. In 1412 the ‘smock frock’ first appeared as opposed to the tunic, worn by peasants and workmen.

PLEATING COMMENCES 17th C
Pleating became evident by mid 17th century, when the frock came to below the knees: the long shoulder seams and low set sleeves were gathered into a wide armhole and had cuffs. The loose shoulder piece became important, added as protection from the shepherd’s crook and the Waggoner’s whip which rested on the shoulders.

CONSTRUCTION
The smock was very economical: the pieces were either squares or rectangles, no fabric was wasted. The women of the farms would harvest the flax and make the threads and fabric, coarse and appropriate for hard work in the field. They would then gather the pleats by eye and smock the pleats. The embroidery on ‘the boxes’ did not really become popular until the 1830s.

Stitches used were variations of feather stitch, chain, satin and stem stitch. Stitches on the smocked panel were cable, outline and stem stitch. Threads were usually linen. It is believed that the thread was waxed, to strengthen and make it more waterproof and needles waxed to assist in getting through the thick fabric.

Farmers and rural workers were known to soak their smocks in boiled linseed oil to make them waterproof. This made for a stiff, waterproof smock that was also very warm. The linseed oil also made the smock deteriorate more quickly. This surely was the first Dri-as-a-bone!

COMMERCIAL PRODUCTION
In 1826 the first commercial smock was manufactured in Newark on Trent. In most cases a cottager or outworker, worked the smocking and embroidery and the garments constructed in the factory. The pattern was printed onto the fabric with metal blocks. These smocks, sold in drapers’ stores or on market stalls, were very expensive and could cost up to a fortnight’s wages.

In Thomas Hardy’s novel, ‘Far from the Madding Crowd’, at a country fair, Gabriel Oak exchanged his overcoat for a shepherd’s regulation smock-frock” for a hiring in Dorset. This gives insight into the social classes as he had failed to get a job as a bailiff or superintendent and so exchanged his jacket in the hope of getting a lower job.

INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION
With the advent of the Industrial Revolution in the 19th C, loose flowing smocks were too dangerous to wear whilst working machinery. As well, so as not appear too rustic, folk moving from country to town discarded their smocks for cheaply manufactured clothes.

By the late 19th C, the fashionable trend setters adopted the smock - the perfect garment for playing lawn tennis and in the studio for art. William Morris and Oscar Wilde were known for wearing smocks. People also took to wearing smocks as a protest against the manufacturers of the machine age.

Good smockers gathered their pleats by eye. Templates & transfer dots were introduced in the 19th C. Pleaters or gathering machines were invented at the turn of the 20th C, but did not become into general use until the 1980s.

In 1887 Weldons published instructions in the art of smocking. These were intended for the middle class ladies to make tea gowns, blouses and Garibaldi jackets. Weldons also provided instruction for handkerchief sachets and bedroom tidies. Into the 20th century Weldons printed patterns for children’s clothing and some adult patterns.

In the 1930s and 1940s new magazines like The Embroiderer, Stitchcraft and Golden Hands printed new stitches and made smocking popular once more.

Edited from a History of Smocking, by Kathryn Smith, Guild tutor, 2004.

REFERENCES:

Smocking Traditional and Modern Approaches, Oenone Cave and Jean Hodges, BT Batsford, London, 1984
Traditional Smocks And Smocking, Oenone Cave, Mills and Boon, 1979
Rural Costume Tunic, Frock And Smock-Frock, Alma Oakes and Margot Hamilton-Hill, 1970 B T Batsford London
The History Of Smocking: The Book Of Smocking, Diana Keay, 1985 W M Collins and son London
The Countryman’s Smock, Anne Buck, Folk Life 1963 No1 pages 16 to 34 p49 UWA: 301.05
Hearts and Tears, Nicholas Thornton, The World Of Embroidery , November 1996, Volume 47 number 5
The Complete Guide To Needlework Techniques And Materials, Mary Gostelow, 1982 Chartwell Books Inc
Smocks and Smocking, Beverley Marshall, 1980 Alphabooks, Sherborne Dorset England
English Smocks, Alice Armes, 1977 Reeves Dryad Books, Leicester England