From: Marina.Salume@Corp.Sun.COM (Marina Salume)
Newsgroups: alt.sewing
Subject: Re: smocking
Date: 16 Apr 92 18:24:42 GMT


>I am considering attempting to learn to do hand smocking. In case you don't
(some deleted)
>Evidently I need some special tissue paper that has little dots on it
>where the pleats are supposed to go. The dots are transferred onto the
>fabric before pulling the pleats. Does anybody know where to get this
>paper? I have tried two mail-order houses and all the local fabric
>shops. 

>I have some old embroidery floss in very good condition which I would
>like to use. My directions say to use six-strand floss and to use about
>three strands of it. I have two-strand floss, is this the same?

>I'm interested in the comments from anybody who has tried hand-smocking.

>Thanks in advance,

>Susan Hallander


*Clothilde sells a pleater that is not a machine and as such is significantly
*cheaper, around $22.


I bought a Butterick pattern for a little girl's smocked dress, it
contains the iron-on paper dots. The pattern instructions say that there
are two kinds of pleating, English and American. 

The English style uses
the prepleated fabric, done with a pleating machine and thread. The thread
is not removed until all the smocking is done, it helps to keep the smocked
piece of fabric the desired size. In American pleating, the iron on dots
are used. A needle and thread are used to "pick up" each dot and pull the
fabric up. After the fabric is smocked, it is cut to the correct size. So
this is a slightly less exact way of smocking a piece of fabric than the
English way, altho both look exactly the same in the finished garment.

I think the pleater that Clothilde sells may not create the kind of
pleats you need for smocking. they're usually a lot closer together. Also,
the threads that hold the pleats are necessary to keep the fabric the
correct size until all the smocking is done. So even if you iron in the
pleats, you'd still have to run a needle and thread through them before
doing the smocking. Gingham is a good way to try a practice piece. Striped
fabric may also work, you could use a wash out marker to draw lines across
the strips to give you a grid. Don't use a heavy or stiff fabric--it needs
to be fairly soft so you can pull it up into tight pleats.

I've done just a couple of projects with smocking. Both were kits where I
was given pre-pleated fabric, done with one of the pleating machines. The
only "trick" seemed to be to achieve a uniform depth to the stitches, 
picking up about the same amount of each pleat (1/3 or so seems common).

Smocking is a lot like other forms of counted thread stitchery. You have
to pay careful attention to the number of pleats in each stitch, etc. 
Most of the stitches are variations on common embroidery stitches. 
"Creative Sewing" and "Sew Beautiful" are two magazines that show lots of
clothing made with smocking, and include some excellent tips. They show
buillion knot roses, and "stacked" designs which are generally pictures
of little bunnies, etc. So you can go beyond the geometric designs, too.

I'd take your two strand floss to a needlework shop and compare it to
6-strand. It may take more thread to cover the fabric if you
are using a light color thread on darker fabric, for example. (this also
sounds like the kind of thread you should test for color-fastness--soaking
it in water with a little vinegar added seems to be a common way to do this.)

--marina


----- End Included Message -----


----- End Included Message -----