Smocking Stitches

Vol. 1 Issue 2 * November 24, 1997

Garden Fairies Trading Company, copyright 1997-2000 all rights reserved

P.O. Box 2596 Clearlake, CA 95422

707-995-9337

Stitches Section

General Smocking Instructions

Smocking looks harder than it is to do. Nowadays we work our smocking with pre-pleated fabric, rather than making the pleats with your stitches. We will be including North American Smocking Stitches instructions in later editions of this section but for now we will go over the working of the stitches on the pre-pleated fabric. All of these stitches included in this section are worded across along a straight line whether it be on the row or at the half or quarter space. If this is your first time smocking I would practice these stitches along the row marker.

The first step is to look at your pleated piece and know that the gathering threads (pleating threads) are now called the rows. These are numbered 1, 2 ,3, 4, 5, etc... Usually we pleat even number of rows for ease in tying off. The following illustration shows how the threads are tied off in pairs. (It also shows how to make the rows with hand gathering). The pleats are actually tied off tighter and blocked to the size recommended by your pattern. Once you have finished the blocking process (see below) you are ready to smock but before you do I suggest you make a mental adjustment and start thinking of the pleating threads as your row makers (sort of like home base with your pattern smocking).

A couple of Important Points to Begin with:

Placement of your Needle

There are a couple of things to remember to do before you begin smocking to keep your smocking stitches even and smooth. The first is that your needle is most always kept parallel to the pleating thread (your row marker). Now this next part is the tricky part to understand, once you get it your smocking will be beautiful. Every instruction manual tells you to grab one third of the pleat with your needle above the pleating thread. Almost every student I've had misunderstands where "above the pleating thread" is. I like to grab the pleat just a hair above the pleating thread.

It would be best to adjust your pleats so that they are are running horizontal to your eyes and the pleating thread is vertical. Now separate your pleats and take a look at one pleat and the pleating thread. The bottom of the pleat is called the valley and the top is the called the 'top'. See the pleating thread? You're going to be placing your needle in the pleat almost right where the pleating thread is but actually just a hair on top of it. Don't shift your needle away to the right or left from the placement of the pleating thread.

The next trick is when pull your floss through keep it parallel flush against the pleats tugging it flat down or up according to the placement of the thread. Don't tug too tight otherwise your stitches will disappear into the fabric.

Some of the stitches are smocked just along the row and by using the row thread as your guide it keeps your smocking straight and even, while other stitches are worked between the rows on the half and quarter spaces. I will explain dividing the space between rows when we get to the wave stitch.

Floss Up or Floss Down

Oh and one other thing to remember, smocking plates or designs constantly refer to the floss being held in the up or down position. This is a very important piece of smocking knowledge to become aware of. This is what makes your pattern stitches unique. Don't loose track of the position of your floss. This is one of the most common mistakes with beginners. It's a matter of practice (like fingerpicking on a guitar). Once you practice getting the pattern down it goes into automatic memory and becomes second nature. So it is very important to remember to repeat the pattern of the position of the floss to yourself until you "get" it. Your smocking will show it.

Tension

A quick few words about tension. Whenever our hands are involved in a project we must train them to work the correct tension with floss or yarn. In knitting if you knit too tight your size 12 sweater will end up an 8, but with smocking it's not going to be such a dramatic effect if you pull your threads too tight but you might have trouble stretching your piece to block it to size when you are finished. The proper tension is even and smooth stitches, not pulling too tight nor too loose. This is why we recommend that you block your pleated piece before you begin smocking. You will be better able to gauge your tension by the blocked size.

Outline or Stem Stitch

This issue we are working with stitches that go across your pleated piece on one row. These stitches are also known as stabilizing stitches as they hold pleats firmly in place.

The oldest smocking stitch is the Rope stitch, also know as the outline or stem stitch. This stitch is worked with the floss always held in the up position after each stitch (above the placement of the needle), creating a rope like texture.

Holding your floss in the down position creates the same texture but is referred to as the stem stitch (as shown in drawing). This stitch holds your pleats singly tightly in place (unlike the cable stitch which holds pleats in pairs). You don't want to pull your stitch so tight that the floss disappears but you do want the pleats to be held together

Place your needle parallel to your pleating thread (now called the row) just a hair above the pleating row, with your floss in the up position. Pull your needle through the pleat and flip your floss up out of the way for your next stitch, gently pull your floss parallel to the surface of the pleat pulling the two pleats together and then move onto the next pleat.
Remember to keep your floss in the up position with each stitch and not to pull so tight that your floss disappears.
To work the stem stitch, keep your floss (as shown) in the down position with each stitch.

The stem stitch has been around since the time of the early Egyptian Pharaohs and we know it is the oldest smocking stitch around. Why the stem stitch became the first popular smocking stitch is very easy to understand, while the chain stitch works holding the pleats together it uses up a lot of floss, something that was not acceptable when it meant that you had to hand spun your own floss, or trade your favorite cow for it on the next market day. (Now trading that darned cat might be appealing, maybe, but not the cow). You can see this stitch on the neckline of Mona Lisa's dress, holding the pleats tight. (Graphic soon, I promise) and on the self portrait of Albrecht Durer look at the smocking at the neckline. As I said before this stitch holds your pleats tightly in place and so therefore should be used at the very top row or for backsmocking or when you want your pleats held firmly in place. It was used on smocks at the top of the smocking and at the bottom. This stitch is often worked in an undulating line as a vine and embroidered bullions flowers and lazy daisy leaves with french knot accents along it.

This stitch holds your pleats singly, not in pairs as with the cable, this is why this stitch is preferred to be used as the top holding row of inserts and bishops. It holds the pleats in place making it easier to stitch your bias or piping on without having a pleat bend or lean toward another. Elizabeth Travis Johnson, "Sewing For Children", recommends that you smock the top row of your smocking on the front of your piece for the holding row rather than on the back. This keeps the pleats standing upright and lessens the chance of fold over pleats after machine stitching them to another piece.

Wheat Stitch

Putting the Outline and Stem stitches together create the Wheat Stitch which historically is the next oldest smocking stitch. (Work the Outline stitch first, then come back and work the Stem stitch just under it creating the wheat stitch, angling your needle to match the stitch up with the first stitch). The evolution of the wheat stitch is not hard to imagine if you take a look at a shaft of wheat. This an exact imitation of it. It is done by working the outline stitch, with your floss in the up position each time you complete a stitch. When you have finished the row then you go back to the first stitch and work the stem stitch very close to the outline stitch creating the wheat pattern. The Stem Stitch is done with your floss in the down position each time you work a stitch, This stitch is an extremely tight one (being the combination of two tight stitches) and should be used when you want to hold your pleats very tight or if you are defining a new area in the middle of a piece, but don't use it on the bottom of a bishop as it will not allow your pleats to fan out at all. You will see this stitch a lot on antique smocks. It is also a bit tricky to work, getting your stitches close together can be confusing the first stitch or two. Work the second row of stitches basically in the same spot but just underneath. Angle your needle into the pleat at 11:00 instead of the usual 9:00.

/ / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / /
\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \

of course your stitches are closer together than this graphic

Cable

The next stitch you will find often on antique smock garments is that of the cable. This little stitch, which has gone through major evolution in the past 20 years with stacked cables, was just used as a single line in 'olden' times or worked in rows and rows filling up areas with color. Often it was used in rows, or half rows, to fill up space or else it was used to separate or delineate sections, much as we use it today. This stitch holds your pleats together in pairs of pleats, so this is why is not good to do your first row of backsmocking with, and holds then together somewhat tightly but not as tight as the stem or the outline stitches. Varying your colors or using variegated or overdyed floss when doing rows and rows of these would make your design very interesting. Practicing this stitch to make it even and smooth is great preparation for stacking cables in picture smocking. Make sure that you place your needle in the same place along the row consistently.

Getting the cable stitch down is tricky at first because you have to alternate your stitches with floss up and floss down. Most smocking plates (design plates) will tell you whether you start with an up cable or a down cable.

The cable stitch is the first stitch we have that combines a thread up and a thread down movement. Your thread naturally falls into place after the last stitch - I always tell my students your thread will tell you which way it want to go - you really don't have to think at all where the thread goes). All you have to do is decide if your first stitch is an up or down cable stitch. Always keep your needle parallel to the pleating threads when doing this stitch, and most all of the other stitches, even when you are working it on the half space rows. This keeps your design looking neat and pretty.
In this illustration the floss is in an up position to start with. Notice that your needle goes through the pleat straight.

Your thread falls naturally in the down position. Tug the thread gently parallel to the pleat to tighten, then move onto the next pleat. Continue this pattern across your row to the end of your pleated piece. Consistency is the secret to beautiful smocking. Making your stitches even and smooth, placing your needle along the same plane pleat after pleat. Try to achieve a rhythm: place needle in, pull the floss down, flip the floss up, move over a pleat "repeat". Once you get the pattern down and you get a rhythm going and the alpha wave length kicks in and the kids, dog and irritated husband disappear. Ah, this is the reason why we smock.