How to Embroidery Smock
The idea of smocking is to connect the pleats with the embroidery
stitches to form a design. After your embroidery project is
completed, you will remove the pleating threads. There may sometimes
be a few gaps caused in your smocking, but the overall effect will
probably look just fine.
Before you begin your smocking project, you need to be aware of some
things. These provisions are described below.
The pleating rows are the areas that are formed when the fabric
comes off of the pleater needles, the threads that hold the pleats.
The spaces between pleats are called the valley of the pleat, which
will be indicated in some of the smocking instructions. This means
that you need to begin your stitch from the bottom on the pleat in
the valley instead of on top of the pleat (which would not look
right).
You will notice references to half space or quarter space when using
various smocking stitches. These spaces between the rows may be
divided into equal parts with stitches. The middle of two rows is
the half space and the quarter space is known as the section between
the half space and the row. You will notice that there will be
stitches worked straight across the piece and some which will be
worked up or down.
The smocking should be kept even by consistently placing the needle
at the same angle. To ensure nice and even smocking, the needle
should nearly always be kept parallel to the pleating threads. The
stitches will be straight and even using this method.
To keep your stitches smooth, use even tension. If you pull your
stitches too tight, the fabric will show, whereas if they are too
loose, they will look uneven. In order to lock a stitch, tug the
floss up or down.
Your hand will "remember" the manner in which you hold and place
your needle. (This is referred to as muscle memory.) Thus, practice
good habits at the beginning so that your hand will "remember" even
though it may seem a bit awkward to you.
The needle should go in straight on the top one-third of the pleat,
or slightly above the pleating thread. However, some smockers
believe that taking a larger "bite" to cover more of the pleat is
best. You can determine which looks best once you have a little
practice.
If you see that you are going to run out of floss, try to complete
the pattern stitch with a cable stitch, then put your needle to the
back of the fabric through two pleats and tie it off. (The know
should be tight, but not so it stretches the fabric.) Then you can
re-thread your needle and come back up where you left off.
Embroidery smocking can be very relaxing so do not tense up as you
do so, merely relax your muscles and enjoy it. Smocking will become
second nature once you have mastered the technique of the stitches
and patterns.
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