Aprons were very popular as they helped keep ones hard to clean clothes from getting soiled. I personally like the look of smocked aprons and that is what I plan on making. Below you can see a few of the paintings of which I am drawing my inspiration from.
The first three show the use of pleated aprons. In the Seated Woman by Durer you can see how the pleats have been drawn up tight at the top of the apron and then are allowed to hang down and become full. I don't see any top stitching on the pleats in this image so the basting threads may have been left in to hold the pleats in place.
Seated Woman, Albrecht Durer, 1514
Presumed Portrait of the Artist's Wife, Hans Holbein the Younger, 1517.
Portrait of a Woman, Albrecht Altdorfer, 1522.
(Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid)
In Albrecht Durer's Melencolia I, you can clearly see a pattern at the top of the apron that could easily be honeycombed smocking.
Melencolia I , Albrecht Durer, 1514.
And again, below you can see what apears to be honeycomb at the top of the apron and maybe a simple line of embriodery or cutwork at the bottom too.
The Seamstress, Edward Schoen, 1535.
If I have time I would like to add some embroidery to the bottom of the apron as well. Maybe some blackwork similar to what appears in this painting:
Unknown.
Well before my persona's life time there are many examples of pleated and/or smocked aprons. Most notably, images found in the Luttrell Psalter from the 14th century. Black embroidery of some kind is clearly seen at the tops of these gathered aprons.
And finally, about 60-70 years after my target time period, you can find many images of pleated, smocked and otherwise embroidered aprons in the Frauen-Trachten by Jost Amman published in 1586. The ones of greatest interest to me are among the images of the women of Frankfurt am Main, Germany the home of my persona, Elsbeth.
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