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February 15, 2003
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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.
From our Readers
Fun with pleated fabric
Piping and sewing the perfect round collar
<<Beth, I read with interest the letter from your reader wanting to make a first communion dress. I made a communion dress for my daughter last year. I used a pattern from Australian Smocking. It was actually a dress designed for a flower girl. The whole bodice is beaded with seed pearls. The hardest part of the whole thing was pleating the silk dupion. In fact, you may remember, I called you in a panic when the pleater jammed. You advised me to go ahead and force it until the needle broke. I did and finished that row by hand. Other then that it was smooth sailing, and the silk actually smocked with ease. I've attached a picture of Katie in the dress. Unfortunately it is hard to see the detail in the bodice, but she still looks beautiful. Laurie>> Laurie, Katie is beautiful and so is the dress. What a sweet mama you are to spend so much time making your daughter such a beautiful dress. I tweaked the image a bit to bring out the contrast ... hope it helps. If anyone else would like to share photos of their projects I would be more than happy to post them to share with everyone else.
Laurie, Katie is beautiful and so is the dress. What a sweet mama you are to spend so much time making your daughter such a beautiful dress. I tweaked the image a bit to bring out the contrast ... hope it helps.
If anyone else would like to share photos of their projects I would be more than happy to post them to share with everyone else.
<<I can hardly wait to get working on my pleater but I am still a little scared of it and need to get the dowel rods. I also am going to have to go and get some fabric. What would you suggest for a novice pleater to work with? I have done some smocking but it has been years since I did that. My aim is that since I have a chronic illness and do not know how much time is left to me I would like to lay away some precious baby things for my daughters future children. I am hoping that I will be able to hold these future persons but I may not be blessed with that privilege and I want them to know that their Grandma loved them even if she was not here to meet them and will meet them at a later time. I am a very good seamstress and I also embroider quite a bit so nothing is to hard but I have never used my pleater. I have a Super Amanda Jane. - Patty>> Ok first thing take out the extra needles that you won't be using as they cause stress when you turn the handle. Get some soft cotton, it sails through the pleater like butter. Polyester is a bear to pleat, even blends so try to stay away or be aware of it while pleating. I have found that a dowel 3/4" or 1" works the best. The 1/2" dowel I was using frequently ended up warping but the 1" has stayed straight and true. However with the 32row Read I have had to go back to the 1/2" dowel as the 1"er is too thick.
Ok first thing take out the extra needles that you won't be using as they cause stress when you turn the handle. Get some soft cotton, it sails through the pleater like butter. Polyester is a bear to pleat, even blends so try to stay away or be aware of it while pleating.
I have found that a dowel 3/4" or 1" works the best. The 1/2" dowel I was using frequently ended up warping but the 1" has stayed straight and true. However with the 32row Read I have had to go back to the 1/2" dowel as the 1"er is too thick.
Do you ever get bored doing the same basic yoke dress over and over again? Looking for something new to make with smocking? FYI smocking doesn't have to be either in the round or straight across, you can make shapes with pleated fabric. One of the fun things to do with pleated fabric is to play with the pleats while you are shaping them. I like to comb them into submission by running my fingers over the pleats while holding one end taut. Something really interesting to make would be a snake shaped pillow ... s-curve. Think how much fun of a gift like that would be to tease your cousin or other relative with whom you always wrack your brain coming up with useless presents. If you haven't played around with smocking different shapes made from your pleats other than straight across you should realize that the principles of smocking in the round apply whenever you change the shape of your pleats from straight to a fan out. This includes adjusting the tension of your stitches at the wide angle of the pleats fanning out otherwise by pulling tight you will bring the shape back to a rectangle. Try playing around while smocking with making bubbles or cones especially if you're making an art piece. You can stuff them as well to give more shape. You never know what your hands will come up if they are allowed to play.
If you haven't played around with smocking different shapes made from your pleats other than straight across you should realize that the principles of smocking in the round apply whenever you change the shape of your pleats from straight to a fan out. This includes adjusting the tension of your stitches at the wide angle of the pleats fanning out otherwise by pulling tight you will bring the shape back to a rectangle. Try playing around while smocking with making bubbles or cones especially if you're making an art piece. You can stuff them as well to give more shape. You never know what your hands will come up if they are allowed to play.
Adding piping to a garment gives a garment a sophisticated finishing touch to the yokes, sleeve edge, or around collars. There are tricks to applying piping to a round collar which would otherwise look sloppy unless you know the ins and outs of putting a straight edge to a curve. The first trick is to be aware there are two types of curves you will run into on a collar. There is the long smooth curve that is basically the body of the collar and the sharp curves that form the ends of the collar pieces. For the smooth curves clip notches every inch into the piping up to 1/8" of the sewing line. For the sharp curves I recommend clipping every 1/2" as it makes it easier for the straight fabric to round the curve. The second trick is to use your cording foot to make it easier to sew over the cord. I like to move the position of my needle one notch to the right (I'm right handed so switch if you're a lefty) and follow the seamline of the piping for a perfect line. The third trick is when you are finished sewing trim and grade your seam. Doing it thus will allow the piping to round a curve smoothly instead of a jagged change. A perfectly shaped, round peter pan collar really makes the garment. The best book I have found filled with tips and techniques for the smocking and heirloom sewing world is Nancy Coburn's "A Busy Mother's Guide to Sewing Smocked Garments". This wonderful book has been recently reprinted. Excellent instructions and step by step photographs. A must have for any sewing room.
The first trick is to be aware there are two types of curves you will run into on a collar. There is the long smooth curve that is basically the body of the collar and the sharp curves that form the ends of the collar pieces. For the smooth curves clip notches every inch into the piping up to 1/8" of the sewing line. For the sharp curves I recommend clipping every 1/2" as it makes it easier for the straight fabric to round the curve.
The second trick is to use your cording foot to make it easier to sew over the cord. I like to move the position of my needle one notch to the right (I'm right handed so switch if you're a lefty) and follow the seamline of the piping for a perfect line.
The third trick is when you are finished sewing trim and grade your seam. Doing it thus will allow the piping to round a curve smoothly instead of a jagged change. A perfectly shaped, round peter pan collar really makes the garment.
The best book I have found filled with tips and techniques for the smocking and heirloom sewing world is Nancy Coburn's "A Busy Mother's Guide to Sewing Smocked Garments". This wonderful book has been recently reprinted. Excellent instructions and step by step photographs. A must have for any sewing room.
This book has been around since 1985 but is still the best. It is perfect for beginners as everything you need to know about sewing garments (smocked and heirloom sewn) is here. Includes more than 25 basic yoke variations, 18 collar variations and 19 sleeve variations. Also has instructions for the construction of the basic yoke dress and the smocked Bishop dress. Includes methods to prevent a "turtle-neck" and 3 easy bishop plackets. It has some of the best clearly written detailed instructions with 215 illustrations and 103 photographs.
A must have for every sewing smockers library. Price $20.00 Quantity requested Nancy Coburn is the designer for Ginger Snaps Designs Smocking and Heirloom Sewing Patterns as well as a wonderful series of beginning heirloom sewing books. You can see all of her patterns and books on this page: Ginger Snaps Designs
Nancy Coburn is the designer for Ginger Snaps Designs Smocking and Heirloom Sewing Patterns as well as a wonderful series of beginning heirloom sewing books. You can see all of her patterns and books on this page:
"Stressed" spelled backward is "desserts".
Go to Smocking Books for beginning Smocking books
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