Two Viking Smocks

I badly needed a couple of plain, neutral-colored underdresses, since most of mine are very strongly colored (red, black, dark blue) and don't go with my apron dresses - I've been struggling to make enough outfits for a longer event.  So, since I was ordering blue fabric for the blue apron dress makeover, I went ahead and ordered some linen for a smock as well.  I also recently purchased some off-white linen from Joann's (a friend gave me a gift certificate for my birthday).  Now I have two new under smocks:

The first one is a plain T-tunic style smock with side and front/back gores.  The sleeves are a little extra long so that I can wear my new bracelets over the fabric.  The keyhole neckline is finished with a narrow edge binding in the same fabric.  The color is "natural" from Fabric-Store.com.  It's a medium weight linen, and maybe I should have ordered a light weight - it's a little heavier than I wanted an under-layer to be, and just the tiniest bit scratchy.  That will wear out and the fabric will get smoother and more flexible as it's washed, though.

The second smock is nearly identical to the first one; the main difference is the fabric:  the linen from Joann's is a 55/45% linen/rayon blend. It's lighter weight, a denser weave with a smoother finish, and a straighter drape.  The pattern itself is the same:  a T-tunic with 4 gores, extra-long sleeves, keyhole neckline.  I used a neckline facing on this dress instead of an edge binding strip because I like how flat and smooth the faced neckline is.  The edge binding is more period, I just like this better.

I could decorate the sleeve cuffs of either of these dresses with a thin strip of ribbon or woven trim;  I haven't put much thought into it yet.  I'll have to stare into my stash and see if anything inspires me.

What's next? 

I'm trimming out my coat with some new fake fur;  but first:  some new jewelry.  Stay tuned.