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Smock, man's
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A round smock made from a tabby woven unbleached linen. It is smocked and embroidered in double linen thread. The stitchery is extremely fine, even and well organised. The linen is woven to a width of 85.5cm (33.5) from selvedge to selvedge. The garment is hand stitched throughout in the traditional manner. The side seams are oversewn and the sleeves, gussets and armholes have been flat stitched. The hem is hem stitched and narrowly turned (0.5cm) and there are 8.5cm hem vents in the side seams. There are no pockets. The smocking is worked on the back, front, upper and lower sleeves in bands of outline, wave and cable stitches. The embroidery is excecuted throughout in variations of Dorset feather stitch. It is worked on the collar, shoulder straps, boxes and cuffs. The designs are based on diamonds and straight lines with a small spiral in the centre of each large diamond. A repair patch has been inserted into the upper section of one sleeve and there is a button missing from one cuff. The other cuff has the original metal buttons which pass through worked button holes. There are no buttons or fastenings to the neck edge as the garment is designed to slip over the head. This smock was made by a girl named Mary Bufton who was a smock-maker in St Peter's Street, Hereford. She used this smock as a sample for taking orders, until she gave up her business when she married in 1834. Smocks like this were worn by farmers and labourers to protect their regular clothing from dust and dirt.
| Details | |
|---|---|
| Accession Number | |
| Date | 1834 |
| Period | Georgian |
| Collection | Costume and Textiles |
| Technique | Hand sewn |
| Material | Linen |
| Creator | |
| Name | Bufton, Mary |
| Locality | Hereford |
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