The undershirt, or chemise, has a rather generic design. It also goes by many names: smock, shift, chemise…. The same pattern has been used for many centuries and in many different regions. It did not take me long to find what I needed. Here are some examples from paintings on which you can clearly see the regular and basic under garment for women in the late 16th century.
All paintings (Joachim Beuckelaer and Pieter Aertsen) from Art Renewal Centre
There really was no need to re-invent the wheel, so I used this pattern for the chemise! I did not include it in the pattern section, because the chemise wasn’t really part of the research. The garb would not be complete without the undergarment, but that really was the only reason for making it…
Ava's Corner 