Having got the background knowledge, I enlisted the aid of Jean Capewell, who was at one time Secretary of the Jack and Jill Windmills Society for the preservation of Jill Mill, and whose late husband, John, was the Treasurer. Jean is a good needlewoman, and after measuring Netta's smock, she made a pattern to cut out and machine up the Jill Windmill Smock.

From a dressmaking point of view it was an interesting exercise because all the angles on the seams are right-angles, and not one piece of material was wasted. There were two squares of material left from the main part of the smock, and these were used for the pockets.

Next came the embroidery, and for agricultural workers the basic stitch was "feather stitch", and it was apparent also from my research that smocks portrayed the occupation of the wearer. Thus it was that the Jill Windmill Smock has millstones on it. Many of the smocks were worked with perlé thread and were self coloured. Occasionally, when in "Sunday-best", smocks were worn on high days and holidays, then the embroidery might include colour and would be more ornate.

Iris P Annett