December 24, 1997
e-Mail: mainfairy@smockingbooks.com
Website: Garden Fairies Smocking & Needlearts Catalog
Smocking Newsletter - Beth-Katherine Kaiman, copyright 1997-2004, all rights reserved. Please respect my creativity and hard work and ask permission before you copy something from these newsletters for your non profit goup, I always ask that you quote me correctly and give me credit with a way for people to get back to me. Thank you. IF you wish to quote me in a venture for profit please contact me separately concerning royalties.
In This Issue:
From Our Readers
Beginner's Corner
Smocking History
"I would love to know how Lettie Lou finished off the ends of her Christmas ball. Did she tie the ends closed and if so how did she cover up the ends of her work without them looking tatty. I am a very new smocker and am loving every minute of it, except it is hours. Needless to say lots of things are not getting done. Ros in S Africa"
"I've spent a long rainy weekend wandering through some back issues of CREATIVE NEEDLE among other magazines. Came across article written by J. Holbert (CN, March/April 1986) about the "extended cable". At the end of the article it says J. Holbert is writing a book called PATTERN SMOCKING. Is J. Holbert a subscriber? Did you/she write her book? I really loved the article and wish this person had written/published more. Very inventive stitcher. Nancy-Lou Polk"
Does anyone have any ideas where J. Holbert might be hiding?
"I noticed the note at the end of the first part of the latest newsletter about pleater boxes (I have a Sally Stanley pleater that my husband bought me on my fist Mother's Day). I always feel that my stitching tension is uneven would a pleater box help? does it hold the work in place while you smock? thanks for the wonderful newsletters I love to read them. Brenda Clift"
Dear Brenda,
A thread caddy (pleater box) keeps all of your pleating threads tidily wound upon spools or bobbins as well as holding your pleater steady on top of it. This is so much easier than guessing how much thread you need or measuring out your pleating threads each time for each needle or dealing with tangled threads from the spools of thread which are on the floor below. It doesn't hold your pleated piece for you while you are smocking. I think the difficulty you are having with your tension is that you are not controlling the thread with each stitch but are rather letting the thread control you. (Ok Beth how do I control the thread?).
As far as your tension on smocking, you have the control on that. I think what is happening is you are not tightening each stitch evenly and consistently. I have figured out from years of teaching students how to smock, that the best way to practice proper tension is to complete each stitch with a final tightening tug with your fingers rather than following all the way through with one motion of the needle. This final tug allows you to lay the floss flat against the pleats while you are tugging and makes a really beautiful stitch. It's a little bit of effort but the effect is worth it.
After a while you will be able to gauge if your stitch can be completed properly with the fluid motion of the needle and thread. This is the key to beautiful smocking. Gaining a rhythm while you are smocking also helps. 'Needle in, pull the thread through, tighten it flat against the pleats with fingers, move over to another pleat.' If you think in those terms while you are smocking, pretty soon it becomes second nature. It's really much the same as practicing making a note on a musical instrument being consistent each time while you are learning how to sound a note and pretty soon it becomes second nature to you - or as I tell my students "automatic pilot takes over".
There are several thread caddy boxes available or if the man in your house is handy have him make you one. If you are interested in purchasing one, please look at the notions section of my website.
Another tip: When pleating it's always wise to use a contrasting colored thread for marking your rows - like orange (not red as red bleeds and/or the color tends to stay in white fabrics). This way you will be able to smock faster and more smoothly.
"Dear Beth - Katherine, HELP!! A very special niece (close to 40 years old!) is expecting her first baby (and it's a girl!) very soon... I'm trying to do a very soft, fine waled corduroy Bishop for her. I've done some Bishops before, but this one really needs to be 100% right and all those good things. So I got Sarah Douglas' pleater book.. and have been in trouble ever since!!
Do you do your pleating her way, trying to "force feed" the fabric thru the needles so it stays on grain? I tried it on a piece of checked gingham using her pattern from the back of the book... what a mess!!! When I look at a dress from a Cherry Williams pattern that I'd pleated the "old" way, I can't tell that it isn't on grain and right, but of course don't have a child to put it on to make sure, either. Sarah D. says on any pattern you should cut the front neck down -- she gives the amounts for the various sizes -- it seems like quite a bit. Why would that be so much better than adjusting the hemline? And on an infant garment, do you really need to adjust the hem? Are they going to appear to have that dip, or is that only on older, mobile children?
I'm using the 6 mo. - 1 yr. Cherry Williams pattern for this dress -- do you think I dare smock the sleeves (short) or will that be too bulky? I prefer the look of the smocked ones to the bound, but wonder about doing that on the corduroy fabric?
Sure wish I were somewhere near so I could come in and take some lessons, but since I can't, I'll really appreciate any on-line help you can give me. Thanks so much -- and THANKS for the newsletter!!! It's basically my only connection with anyone else whose interested in smocking, so you can about imagine how important it is to me! Marylou"
Must be the season. This is the fourth letter I've received concerning pleating corduroy. More questions and solutions next issue. The Chery Williams Bishop (click here for images) doesn't need any adjustments made to the front of the pattern for the dip. It's already there. The older bishop patterns, pre-1985, had you add in the adjustment for the hemline dips.
Pleating a corduroy bishop. Yikes. Ok first off I wouldn't use french seams - way too bulky. I would edge finish on the sewing machine or else if you have a serger do it that way.
I've tried Sarah's method and found that if I gently guide the fabric it's better than tugging hard. Then remember to pleat slowly and evenly, taking the time to 'milk' the fabric off of the needles every four cranks or so. It's having fabric sitting on the needles waiting to come off that causes the pleater stress.
As far as the sleeves, yes I would smock them. It's so much prettier.
* * *
"Me, again.... your "Yikes" on pleating corduroy for a bishop was truly spoken, and I'm now proceeding to plan "B"!! I tried a sample, bent 3 needles in spite of being very very careful ... thanks for the warning!
Next problem.. I'm using Chery Williams Basic Yoke dress (click here for image), size 6 mo. It calls for 36" in the skirt... and doesn't make any allowances for the difference between batiste / corduroy / velvet or whatever. Can I safely cut that down to 24" - 28" on the corduroy? Thirty-six inches around a tiny baby is a LOT of skirt... a bit like ok, I see the skirt, where's the baby? Marylou"
Dear Marylou,
I truly don't mind you asking me questions, it keeps me on my toes (so to speak).
You can reduce the amount of fabric in a pleated skirt but you have to realize that it might effect how the smocking will look. If you are planning to do picture smocking this will greatly effect your motifs as you might have to stretch out your smocking to fit the yoke. Chery Williams and others are geared towards tight pleats which is why there is so much fabric allowed. Is your smocking design one that would look good stretched out a bit or does it demand tight pleats.
Ok on the CW baby yoke dress cutting down the width of the skirt. I think the first thing you should do is to figure out the ratio of pleats per inch on your pleater with the fabric you are planning to pleat. This is simple. Cut a scrap piece of the fabric you are using for the dress, say 3-4" and send that through the pleater. When you take it off of the needles and onto the threads to measure make sure you have the pleats the same spacing as when they were on the needles, in other words don't spread them out. Measure this piece to find out how many inches (or inch) of fabric it takes to make one inch of pleats, then measure the yoke and calculate how much fabric you can safely take out without distorting the smocking.
Does this make sense? Basically you are re-designing the pattern and need to decide if lesser pleats will look good and that you can stretch out your smocking and still have it look pretty. -- Beth
"That's EXACTLY what I needed to know -- Thanks a million!!! I'll give it a try as you suggested... This one is just going to be a geometric. Picture smocking isn't as much fun (have to keep your mind on what you're doing too much!) and for an infant I think geometrics are cuter anyway -- more delicate! Thanks again.... Mary Lou"
"Thank you so much for having such a wonderful site. I have seen an awful lot of smocking sites and I think yours is the best! Thanks for the great news letters and answering my questions. I do have some more questions for you though. On the Cherry Williams baby bishops pattern, is the top edge of the sleeve supposed to be angled a little? How are you supposed to line it up with the grain? when I pleated this bishop the front and back pleat nicely but the pleats on the sleeve portion are bunchy because they aren't on the straight of grain. did I do this wrong?
Also, is it normal for a pleater to skip a pleat every once in a while? I have yet to have a perfectly pleated piece of fabric come put of my pleater. Thanks again for all of your help. Sincerely, Sarah Wunderlich"
The CW baby bishop pattern has the angle already drawn in so you don't have to worry about doing it. As far as pleating, in The Pleater Manual by Sarah Douglas ($14.00) she takes you through pleating a bishop step by step. She says that you have to work the bishop through slowly making sure that the edge of the fabric goes through the pleater straight by gently tugging on it or any part that seems to be speeding up. I have found that I don't really worry about pleating it on the grain, just making sure the neckline edge goes into the pleater straight. Another great book for bishops is by Jane MacPherson The Bishop Dress Book ($10.00). A must have for the library.
As far as skipping pleats you need to change that needle as it is probably bent or else your needles are out of whack. I would re-position all of the needles and try it if it doesn't work then you need a new set of needles.
"I have a Read 16 row pleater. I got it last year for Christmas. I tried to jump right in and do a bishop dress for my 3 year old. This thing did not come with instructions. I guess they think you will just know how to use it. I don't! =o ( Is there a video out there that could help??? My pleater has been sitting up in the closet for a year now and I would really like to use it. Also I am in St. Louis do you know where I could go to get instructional help??? I have called around and was told the Winstons and U. Farmers both have them but they are in the middle of the day and I work. Thanks so much for your site and for letting me rattle on here.=o) Lori St. Louis, Mo"
Dear Lori,
I am going to put your request for instructional information in the next newsletter. The latest SAGA convention was held in St. Louis so I know there is a guild in your town. Meanwhile do you have to book The Pleater Manual by Sarah Douglas ($18.00) it's the best one around, actually it's the only one (duh Beth). Look for my review on the book section on my website.
As for as an instructional video I would recommend you check out Dawn Benchley (sp) who has a website for smocking videos (do a web search on Smocking Videos). I personally haven't viewed it but in a back issue one of the gals reviewed the video and said that Dawn pleated backwards which was so confusing that the rest of us shook our heads as to why she did that. She has however taken the time to creat a video on learning how to smock and with that caveat in mind ...
I would suggest that you take your pleater out of the closet and start to play with it. Look at it and analyze how it works. The front of the pleater has needles going into the roller bars with the eyes facing you. Notice that the roller bars are grooved and notched. The notches are for the needles so that when the fabric is fed through the back of the pleater and you turn the handle the high part of the rollers push the fabric into the low part (making the pleat) and then with the next crank push the fabric onto the needles (needles within the pleater [hidden from view] look like they have a half moon on the end to fit snugly onto the bottom roller bar. With each crank the fabric is pushed further along the needle until it comes out the front pleated and ready to be gently milked off of the needles onto the quilting threads (now know as pleating threads).
Thread your needles with quilting thread (it is sturdy) by either measuring out the amount you need each time, or have spools of quilting thread on the floor feeding into the pleater needles or underneath the pleater in a thread caddy (this nifty little box [$38.00] you may want to consider later - holds your threads on spools or bobbins so you don't have to measure out each time).
Wrap your fabric onto a 1/2" dowel, you can get this at a hardware store, place the dowel through the handle bars balancing the dowel - you may have to adjust your fabric once you have it threaded into the pleater. With the fabric coming out from the bottom of the dowel carefully feed it into back of the pleater between the rollers - you will be able to see this when you look at the back of the pleater. As I said above, with the turn of the handle the fabric is pushed onto the needles and gradually comes out the front and onto the shanks. When there is about 1" of pleated fabric on the needles stop pleating (turning the handle) and carefully milk the fabric off of the needles and onto the threads. Do not leave more than 1" of fabric on your needle shanks as this causes stress. When you hear a crunch, crunch, crunch it means there is too much fabric on the needles and it's time to milk it off. (By milking I mean you pull it off from one end of the pleater needles and then the other just as if you were milking the teats of a cow - one then the udder [sorry couldn't resist the pun]}
I find that I hold the dowel in about the middle of the amount of rows you want to pleat, gently guiding the fabric in rhythm of the turning crank - in other words both hands work at the same time. Right turns the cranks, left guides the fabric on the dowel. Try it and you'll see what I mean.
If you want to pleat 10 rows, thread 10 needles. Use the spacing for the eleventh row as your guide in feeding the fabric through your pleater. I would suggest that you start out pleating a small insert and practice feeding the fabric through your pleater keeping the edge of the fabric aligned with the 11th row slowly turning the handle and keeping the fabric moving along.
In The Pleating Manual Sarah Douglas has lessons for you to follow which take you through the whole gamet of pleating situations. Hope this helps,
Patterns all around us
Patterns are part of our culture. Everywhere you look there they are. Whether it be in the mosaic tile in big buildings, to the number of leaflets that make up a complete rose leaf, to rhythm of music and machines. Patterns control our everyday lives and the sense of patterns, or rather the quality of the patterns, change with every generation. Of course there are constants like the patterns of nature, but even those change albeit slowly with evolution.
I have been fascinated with patterns ever since I found out that there were no two snowflakes alike. My daughter recently had a math assignment where she had to find the number patterns within Pascal's Triangle. Her instructor told her to find 10 or 15 but my little genius found 25! Amazing, I looked and only found four (geez).
Too often we get caught up in box like patterns, simple designs with very little movement. The music historian in my soul tells me it's because of the type of music that we listen to, the simple structure of "folk songs" which have become the basis of our popular music are extremely non-complex. Usually you have a structure of four lines that make up the verse and then one or two lines that make up the chorus (which repeats to the delight of the mind). Unconsciously these simple patterns 'pattern' our lives by keeping us within the boundaries of the simple structure - we get locked in also because of television and the patterns of segments of a TV show interspersed with commercials. I have a customer who reminded me that researchers in the field of intelligence found that children who listened to Mozart and Baroque music developed much faster than those children who listened to popular music, and this is because of the complex patterning structure of the baroque music. Just something to think about.
Beginner's Corner
Steaming in your pleats just requires a steam iron. If you don't have one handy or if yours doesn't give off much steam you might try a trick that tailors use working with wool. Get a steaming cloth (just a piece of muslin), wet it and place it on top of your pleats and gently place your hot iron on top and keep it there until the cloth is dry. Take off the cloth and let your pleats air dry. This process is especially effective after smocking when your embroidery has pulled in the pleats. I love using it on unruly bishops which have lost their shape while smocking. I re-align the pleats along the bishop guide, tightening the threads again and then place the wet cloth on top and put the iron on one section at a time. I lift up to check to see if every pleat is now behaving and then continue around. Allow to dry and it's ready to be sewn.
"I stopped believing in Santa Claus when my mother took me to see him in a department store, and he asked for my autograph." --Shirley Temple