June 25, 1998
e-Mail: smockingstore@att.net
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.
"I've never smocked before, but I'm very interested in learning how. I've borrowed some books from the library, but I need more help than that. I love to cross-stitch, and I sew for my 2 1/2 year old daughter and I'm interested in being able to make her something uniquely hers. What are some good resources for a beginner? I'm not sure how to incorporate a smocked panel into a piece of clothing in the right size for my daughter. GG"
Dear GG: I would recommend getting one of beginning books on Smocking that I carry. The first is called
"On English Smocking" by Ellen McCarn. It is $12.00 + $2.00 shipping. It has all of the information you are looking for. The other good book is "English Smocking" by Grace Knott, also $12.00. Both are excellent books but what is neat about Grace's book are the lovely geometric smocking designs in full color which are beautiful and simple to work.
I would also recommend that you look around at bookstores for the following magazines: Creative Needle and Sew Beautiful. Both of these magazines will help you a lot on your path of discovery as there are articles and smocking designs included. Also the wonderful Australian Smocking and Embroidery magazines that I carry are especially gentle on beginners. Issues 31 and 32 have articles specifically designed to help you get started in smocking. (See the magazine section on my website for reviews on these issues.)
If you are really serious there is another resource called SAGA, Smocking Arts Guild of America. There are guild groups all across the world where ladies can come and smock together.
On inserting an smocked panel (called an insert) there is another great book by Creative Keepsakes called
Adapting a Commercial Pattern for Smocking, it is $4.50 + $1.00 shipping. It will tell you everything you need to know about putting in an insert. Mostly it's the trick of applying piping which holds the pleats in place. I have written about it before in back issues of the newsletter but I have to go through and organize everything in a cohesive format.
Beth
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Just a Beginner in Smocking - How do I get started?
"Hi, I have never done any smocking...I am an advanced sewer and now have a granddaughter. I want to begin making beautiful pinafores and dresses for my dear Sarah and her dolls. What is a good book to get some instructions on how to start? I just purchased a Viking Rose. So, I am ready to get started. Can't seem to find anything here in So. California. Am I not looking in the right places? I have signed up for classes at the Sewing store. Will take a Martha Pullen class here in So. CA in June sponsored by Pfaff. Hope you can point me in the right direction. Thanks a bunch, Karen Powel"
Is your intention to do smocking by hand or by machine? I do know that the Viking Rose does have smocking stitches programmed into it or have a cassette (or whatever they are called) that has them. Smocking by machine isn't bad but for the true and real McCoy I would recommend that you work the stitches by hand on pre-pleated fabric.
Fabric needs to be pleated by hand or by a machine called a pleater. Using your sewing machine to pleat fabric doesn't really work because you can't make accurate enough rows of pleats. Your machine gathering is good for shirring but not true smocking. So you have a choice, either pleat by hand or have someone pleat for you. If you find later on that it's going to be addictive then I would recommend getting a pleater (see notions section on my website).
To start off I would suggest that if you don't have access to a pleater (or don't know of anyone with one) and want to practice smocking that you get one of my pre-pleated inserts $5.50 each (or two or three) for you to practice your smocking stitches on. These are the right size to be used as inserts (inserting into a commercial pattern as a smocked insert) and are quite fun and easy to work with as they are a straight piece of fabric to work with (as opposed to smocking in the round as with bishops and smocked round collars). I would also recommend a good instruction book (see above), some needles to smock with. The ones that I recommend are Darners#7 $1.50 per package of 15. This is a good sized needle long with a wide eye that you can actually see for threading. It also makes a big hole in your pleat for the floss to fit through.
After working on the sampler and practicing your stitches (you can teach yourself from books, I and others have) then I would think about a project to smock. I would suggest you start with a basic yoke dress as it is straight smocking with the only challenge being attaching it to the yoke with piping, and from your note I don't think it will be much of a challenge.
How old is your granddaughter? There are wonderful patterns by Kay Guiles, A Garden of Smocking, Love and Stitches, Pat Garretson and Petite Poche (if I have forgotten anyone please let me know) that comes in American Girl size as well as child size. Each pattern is around $12.00 (for child) and about $6.00 to $8.00 for the doll but each pattern comes with 6 or 7 variations and collar and sleeve choices. I also do pleating for people at $3.50 a piece (no matter how many rows) with usually a quick turnaround. (For a matching outfit we can make a deal) Beth
"Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!! I will sit and read everything and let you know what my next step will be. Sarah, my granddaughter, is 3 years old and I just recently had a "My Twinn" Doll made for her (looks just like her). So, I want to make them matching outfits. The doll is 23" or so the brochure says. Thanks again, Karen Powel"
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I am interested in learning smocking, but don't know where to start. Thanks in advance, Keri
Dear Keri,
Smocking is fun to do but if you start out looking at already smocked garments it can be confusing knowing where to start. The first step is to pleat the fabric either by a pleater or by ironing on dots, picking them up creating pleats. The pleating is done in rows which are about 5/8" apart. Once the pleating is done then pleating threads become known as the guide rows for smocking. The smocking is worked using the guide rows, passing the embroidery floss above the needle or below the needle as each different pattern calls. The spacing between the rows is divided into 1/4 sections or 1/2 spaces depending again on the smocking design.
Blocking your pleated and smocked section by measuring the area it is supposed to fit and pinning it to your ironing board and steaming it with your iron is another step you should be aware of. If you are making an insert to be placed into a garment then deciding the width of the insert before it's smocked is helpful. I know that a lot of experts recommend that you block your pleated piece before and after it is smocked. Attaching your smocking to your garment is done with piping and that's another story.
There are several projects for beginners. The book "Calico Keepsakes" by Diane Bruce of Creative Keepsakes, has many delightful projects which are all smocked including: Napkin rings, a purse or diaper bag, an apron and pot holder, egg cosy and tea cosy, a toaster cover, a nightgown and slippers, a book cover, a door stop or book end,, and a pillow. Also included are simple geometric designs and 6 simple picture smocked designs.
Once you start practicing your stitches and feel comfortable you might feel like venturing in a bit farther there are many projects that you can do including smocking outfits for boys and girls as well as adult patterns.
Beth
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Last issue I wrote out a beginning smocking design for you and this issue we are going to begin a series on silk ribbon embroidery on a smocking. Silk Ribbon Embroidery on Smocking is a somewhat new avenue of embellishment. The first piece that I saw was done in 1987 by Esther Randall of YLI at a trade show. It was absolutely gorgeous. The ribbon made the smocking stand out and the addition of SRE flowers was a simple yet elegant touch. I am glad to see that her creative idea of what else to do with silk ribbon has taken off.
Supplies needed: Tapestry #26 needle, YLI silk ribbon, floral design you wish to copy, imagination and a comfortable spot to relax in.
Working with Ribbon
In order to work SRE on pleats there are a few simple concepts to understand, the first is that ribbon is fragile and cannot withstand constant pulling through fabric without tending to look it by getting a permanent crease from going in and out and worse, starting to fray. Therefore, unlike floss, ribbon needs to be cut into shorter strands (12" to 14" is the recommended length). This means that is takes a bit more time to stop and re-thread your needle so I suggest that you have a few needles pre-threaded before you start smocking. If you are going to use Silk Ribbon to smock with (rather than embellishing) then three needles will more than likely cover one row, thread a fourth just to be safe, figure about one yard for each row you are smocking. I would knot all of the ends in one operation again to save time. (If you are unsure about working with ribbon I strongly suggest that you get one of the books that I recommend so that you understand working with ribbon.) Pay close attention to how you knot your ribbon. Do it slowly, gently and carefully so as not to crease the ribbon.
More Working with ribbon
As you start embroidering with ribbon you will notice that the ribbon starts out pretty and flat, but as you go in and out of the fabric after a while it seems that with each time you pull the ribbon though your fabric it starts looking rather sad and wrinkled and creased, and the more you pull it though the worse it looks.
There are a couple of ways around the gradual worsening condition of your ribbon the first is to start out with a flat piece of ribbon, tying your knot very carefully and gently, and then work quickly and assuredly. Certain stitches do not require your ribbon to be constantly fresh and new but you want it always to look nice otherwise the consistency of your smocking or embroidery will be lopsided to your audience. Aside from working quickly and assuredly, a good solution to the wrinkling and creasing that happens is to have a curling iron next to you and carefully run it along the ribbon to flatten it out again (don't wind it around the shaft though, it will curl). (If you are unsure of working with ribbon I strongly suggest that you play around with it on flat fabric for a while, getting used to the different stitches and the way ribbon handles BEFORE you tackle SRE on pleats.)
Threading your needle
Now this is where the majority of "experts" and I disagree. It is commonly stated to 'lock your ribbon' onto your needle by piercing the end of the ribbon and pulling the needle and the rest of the ribbon through until it locks just below your needle's eye. This is a very neat way of guaranteeing that your ribbon will not slide off your needle. Only problem with it is that if you have to take out your stitches you have to cut the ribbon at that area and start all over again. Another problem is that I have found that piercing the ribbon at this area tends to cause the dreaded 'running' or "striating" down the middle of the ribbon. Merrilyn Heazlewood mentioned this is one of her books about the size 7mm ribbon and so I experimented and found it to be true with the common 4mm as well. So the long and the short of it is that I DO NOT recommend that you "lock your ribbon" onto the needle and just pay attention that it doesn't slip off.
The book Silk Ribbon Embroidery Encyclopedia (ASN Publishing) is a wonderful resource tool. It contains directions for making 131 flowers. They are detailed with illustrations as well as a color photograph. ASN Publishing has four other books which have more flowers, vegetables and critters worked in SRE. If you are interested in learning more about Silk Ribbon Embroidery please look at the pages I've built on my website:
Next edition: Silk Ribbon Embroidery on Smocking
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BEGINNER'S CORNER
Trials and pitfalls of the outline stitch
The outline stitch or the stem stitch is usually the first stitch that beginners learn (although I start my students out with the cable stitch as it's easier to learn since you don't have to worry about flinging your floss up or down each time, it just goes with the flow) and it can be the hardest to remember. It is one of the oldest stitches we know of, seen frequently on men's shirts in German Renaissance paintings as the top holding row. It was used because it held the pleats in place tightly and firmly, which if you remember was a benefit because they didn't have elastic.
The outline stitch is worked with the floss in the upright position at all times. You put your needle into the fabric slightly at an angle (yes this is the exception to the rule "ALWAYS PUT YOUR NEEDLE IN PARALLEL TO THE PLEATING THREAD"), making sure your floss in the up position. Gently pull your thread through the fabric, tugging it tight, flat against the pleats. Now here is where the difficulty arises (as I recently re-discovered), don't pull too tight. The outline (or stem) stitch is the tightest stitch in your smocking stitch repertory. It is used to hold pleats firmly and singularly in place (as opposed to the cable stitch which holds your pleats in pairs). This is why it is used for back smocking and for holding rows (top and bottom). If you look at smocking design plates, you will see that most always the top row is the outline or stem stitch. Now the trick is to learn to adjust your tension so that this stitch is not so tight that it pulls your pleats in more than a 1/4"smaller than you blocked them originally. You can pull them out for the final blocking but if you have stitched them too tight, they are going to pull back in eventually.
For a real tight holding stitch, work the wheat stitch - which is a row of the stem stitch and the outline stitch worked right beneath it, to make the look of wheat, but watch your tension so as not to work it too tight especially if your stitch is found within your design instead of the top or bottom.
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"We can't all, and some of us don't. That's all there is to it." -- Eeyore.
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"Anybody who tells you that getting thin takes "about a week" is lying." -- Pooh
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