I’ve ordered the wool that will complete the smokkr, or Viking apron dress, that will feature as its front panel the gorgeous green wool made by Joy Selby Cain. See my post about her green wool at Hand-woven wool by Joy Selby Cain.

Joy had recommended Schindler’s, a place in Cleveland, as a good source for more wool to complete the garment. She said she used to go there with her mom, who was a Viking sewing machine educator. If you’ve been following my posts recently, you’ll know that I’m the proud recent owner of a Viking.  See New sewing machine!

I don’t get up to Cleveland very often–it’s a bit out of my driving range due to the arthritis in my hands–but I discovered that Schindler’s has a website at http://store.schindlersfabrics.com/

Check it out! I did, and I ordered some samples of a fine, almost summer-weight British wool twill in three colors: sage, lichen, and ecru, to see if one of them would work with Joy’s green wool. I was very pleased with the samples and took them over to my friend Janet’s house that evening so that we could confer about my plans for a new smokkr made with Joy’s green wool as its front panel.

I had already decided to make this one an open-sided smokkr. I’ve noticed that many of the contemporary Scandinavian reenactors whose events I follow wear open smokkrs instead of the closed ones currently favored here by Americans in the SCA. And Jen Johnson’s smokkr at Maidens in January was also open-sided:

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Jen Johnson, Festival of Maidens, January 2018

So here are some photos of the Schindler’s fabric swatches, the sage and lichen ones, together with Joy’s green wool. First, photos from my camera phone, a Samsung Galaxy Note 4. I’m still trying, unsuccessfully, to capture the radiant greens of Joy’s wool:

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The dark streak in the wool is a very dark teal. Here are some photos that I took with my old Canon Powershot Elph:

Joy's green wool on Canon Elph
This shot was taken with the macro setting of the Canon Elph, and then it was enhanced using my Photo Editor client. It shows some of the many colors that make up Joy’s green wool, but not the overall effect of it. Here the fabric seems much more blue than it does to the eye.
Joy's green wool with sage wool for back of smokkr and dark teal linen for underdress
The dark teal linen will be the first underdress I make for this smokkr. The sage wool twill swatch at the upper right will be the back panel.
Joy's green wool, sage wool for back, lichen wool for lining in top left corner
Top left: lichen wool twill for linings; underneath it is Joy’s green wool; on top of her wool is the sage wool twill from Schindler’s that will be the back panel of the smokkr.
Joy's green wool, sage wool for back, lichen wool for lining, dark teal linen for underdress
From L to R: Dark teal linen for the kirtle, or underdress; Joy’s green wool for the front panel of the smokkr; sage wool twill for the back panel; and lichen wool twill to line both the front and back panels.