How to Make Smocking Stitches

Smocking is a great decorative feature and makes a great gift for a little dress for a baby, for making pillow designs, or anywhere else you may wish to use it. Read on to learn how to make smocking stitches.

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Different color threads for your design
• A pleated piece of fabric
• Needle

1. Make sure the pleated fabric is two-and-a-half to three times the desired finished width. Even more fabric is required with more involved and closely spaced designs.

2. Pleat two more rows than the design will cover, one above and one below. This makes it easier to smock the top and bottom rows of the design plus giving you a “guide line” to use when sewing the finished piece into the garment or project.

3. The needle should enter the pleat horizontally, perpendicular to the pleat. Each stitch should pick up about half to two-thirds of the pleat above the gathering threads.

4. 

   The stem stitch is the opposite of the outline stitch. The thread is always held below the needle. For the outline stitch, the thread is held above the needle.

5. 

   For the six cable flowerette: Work three cable stitches--one down, one up, one down. Invert fabric. Work three cable stitches above the previous row, one down, one up and one down. To finish off, insert needle between last two pleats, knot on top few threads of pleat on back of fabric.

6. 

   The lazy daisy stitch (for leaves or flowers) requires bringing the needle through the top of pleat, forming loop, inserting needle at previous entry point, through pleats and over center of loop. Attach loop to top of pleat with a stitch over center of loop.

7. 

   Make a French Knot. Bring thread through top of pleat, wrap thread over needle the desired number of times. Holding thread tight and moving needle to the right, insert needle through the same entry point (for next pleat over) keeping thread windings tight. Pull needle and thread to back, knot.

8. 

   Try a Satin stitch. Make stitch smooth and level. Insert needle at a slight angle through all the pleats. Working up, keep thread below the needle. Working down, keep thread above needle. Straighten each stitch with needles or fingers to keep from overlapping. Keep tension uniform.

9. You can use these stitches and combine them to make up designs and create a lovely piece.

Resources

• Smocking instructions

[anglalyn]

on 2/10/2009 THANK YOU!!!