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June 9, 2003
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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.
1) From our Readers - answers to pleating query
2) When to remove pleating threads
3) Show and Share
4) Easy Slip idea
<< Hi Beth,
I was just reading your delightful newsletter and the pleater discussion and woes section was of interest to me.
I always pleat with my needles facing away from me. I have a Sally Stanley 24 row pleater and I think the old saying "garbage in = garbage out" applies here. I think it is very important to be able to see the fabric as it feeds into the pleater (more important than seeing it come off of the needles!) This way, minute adjustments can be made to the fabric with every turn of the knob if necessary. That is the only way to absolutely be certain that you are staying on the grain of the fabric. I never use a dowel, I just gently and loosely roll the fabric to control it and I avoid unnecessarily pulling on the fabric - let the pleater do the work. You can always gently "pull back" on an area if it seems to be feeding too fast. A great method for practicing is to use a plaid - pick a line to guide along a needle and watch the horizontal lines as you pleat, you can easily see where you might be off and need to pull back or otherwise adjust the fabric!
I solved the "wishing for an extra pair of hands" dilemma by stitching the edge of any particularly difficult to pleat piece of fabric to a strip of graph paper 1" wide and as long as the width of the fabric. It is very easy to use one of the lines as a guide for the fabric to keep it straight while stitching it to the paper with a basting stitch. The paper has enough stiffness to slip easily into the gears of the pleater. The result is a perfectly straight start to your fabric - just remove the paper after you've pleated the fabric. This is especially useful on very slippery and/or soft fabric.
Hope this is helpful! Linda Richards>>
Excellent suggestion Linda, I will try it the next time I have to pleat the "pain-in-the-butt" chiffon with the 32 row pleater! Your suggestion will most definitely make it easier to start the fabric instead of my usual gymnastics with my thumbs and fingers.
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<<When do you remove the pleating threads from a bishop or yoke dress? Are they removed before or after the garment is complete? Janet>>
Remember, the pleating threads are there to hold the pleats in place until the smocking is completed on both sides and when you have stabilized the pleats with sewing. You remove the pleating threads when the pleats are anchored by either a bias or piping attached to a yoke. For a Bishop dress you remove them when you finish sewing the bias band on. For a Basic Yoke Dress you remove them when you have attached the pleats to piping and the yoke.
***
<<I have a pleater and I use a different color thread for each row. I find it helps me to see that I have to go down or up to a certain color, rather than counting every row and makes the smocking go faster for me. Jane Gordon>>
Excellent suggestion. I only use alternate colors for the half space rows, tangerine for the main rows and seafoam for the half space rows but your idea has merit in big projects.
I have done several smocking projects over the last twenty years beginning with a dress for my oldest daughter (now 21). At that time though I didn't know that a pleater existed! Only a few years ago I met a woman who was a member of a smocking group and she introduced me to the ease of pleating my projects. WOW! What a treat it is to not have to hand pleat everything!! Since that time I have also found AS&E. I have numerous copies and have a hard time resisting the latest one even though I have patterns enough to keep me busy for decades. When I saw "Rhapsody" in one of the older issues, I knew that I would have to make it. I should have chosen a softer lace for the top piece because pleating that with the fabric put me out 12 needles. Ugh! but As I look at this lovely piece I know that it was worth all the extra effort and frustration. I have attached a picture. See what you think. This is my fourth daughter (Julia) and there are two more that will get to wear this beauty too! Thanks for the website offerings. What a great hobby we have! God bless, Lori>>
Thank you so much for sharing your beauties with us. The dress is absolutely gorgeous. I can see how many hours of love you put into it. I'm glad that you have so many little girls waiting in line to wear it. Such a treat!
<<I finished a petticoat I made for my 5 year old niece. I have attached pictures of it for you to see. I used the following materials:
Embroidered Swiss Cotton - White on White 60" 100% imported cotton
White Tatted Edging Lace - 1/4" wide 1/4" repeat
Swiss Embroidered Insertion White Dots & Entredeux on White Imported Batiste, 1/2" wide, 1/2" repeat
Swiss Embroidered Edging White Dots & Scallops on White Imported Batiste 4" wide 1" repeat
Swiss Embroidered Edging White Dots & Scallops on White Imported Batiste 7" wide 1" repeat
The design is my own and was dictated by the material itself. There is only one seam down the back. All sewing was done by hand because of the delicacy of the material. I embroidered the last two items together with scalloped buttonhole stitch before gathering into a puff onto the entredeux.
Horretta Wilkins>>
Once again Horretta has outdone herself. The slip is incredible. I especially like the feather stitching on the back placket. Thanks so much for sharing.
Many times we sew and smock dresses for our girls but forget to include a slip. I remember when I was growing up in the 50's where we ALWAYS wore slips and petticoats no matter where we went. I also remember hating the nylon netting that poofed out my dresses and was glad when styles changed and we got away from that style. Nowadays it seems that slips have gone out of fashion but not in my book.
I wanted to share an idea I had for an easy way to make sure your little girl wears a slip with her smocked dress it's simple and easy to do. Make your dress with a slip attached to the dress. It's quick and easy to do by attaching a skirt to the front and back linings for your yokes. Instead of handstitching the linings to the dress you sew the side seams of the linings and the skirts in one quick seam. Finish the bottom with a simple hem.
One of the benefits is that the rough side of the knots on the back are covered with a lining and the dress has a slip attached so no worries about hunting down a slip to wear underneath. It also makes the dress a bit warmer for those chilly days. If you prefer you can also create a separate slip from your basic yoke pattern by lowering the neckline of the yokes and making the armhole curves slightly bigger.
For those who prefer a separate slip I have created a web page with the two underwear patterns we carry.
A little consideration, a little thought for others, makes all the difference. Or so they say. — Eeyore
Sundresses have become an interest lately what with the hot weather just around the corner (if winter will ever let go it's grip) so I have rounded up all the sundress patterns available on one page for your convenience. Sundress Patterns We Carry.
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:
Go to Smocking Books for beginning Smocking books
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