Smocking a fabric is a popularly used embroidery pattern since years. This type of embroidery pattern is widely used in making clothes more fashionable. It is used to fancify skirts, shirts, frocks, kids wear and pillows as well. You can either smock a fabric using a sewing machine or with your hands. If you are wondering how to smock a dress, how to smock a pillow, how to smock by hand, how to smock with elastic, then this article will answer all your questions. Here is the detailed procedure of how to smock fabric.
How to Smock Fabric: Step-by-Step Procedure
Material You'll Need
* Fabric
* Cotton thread
* Needle
* Fabric pencil/chalk
* Elastic
* Pearl pins
* Smocking pleater (if available)
Procedure
Step 1
The first step of how to smock a fabric is to pleat it. You can mark the starting and ending point of smocking with a fabric pencil. While using a smocking pleater is an easy way of doing this, you can also do it without this equipment. While working on the fabric just remember 3:1 ratio and start pleating the fabric. This means, that you have to take 3 inches of un-pleated fabric and then 1 inches pleated fabric. Go on doing this. Read more on sewing.
Step 2
Pin the pleats with pearl pins as you move on. Keep 3 inches fabric plain from both borders. The total number of pleats formed must be even. Now mark a horizontal line along the length of the pleats.
Step 3
To keep the pleats in place use a running stitch, which you can easily remove later. Go on removing the pearl pins used previously while pleating the fabric. Mark the required number of rows for smocking on wrong side using a fabric pencil/chalk.
Step 4
Now thread the needle with 3 strands of cotton thread, tie a knot at the end. Now let's see how to smock with elastic. Take a narrow elastic of size bit smaller than length of the fabric you have after pleating. Now place the elastic thread on the wrong side of fabric, over the marking of second row. Go in stitching it in a row. Once you reach the end, put a back stitch so as to secure the stitches properly. Now put a knot and cut off the remaining thread. Learn how to embroider by hand.
Step 5
Start working on the next row below it in the same way with elastic and thread. Go on doing this till you finish the number of rows you have marked for the project. The smocked fabric is ready to be used. Instead of using thread and elastic you can use an elastic thread as well.
Remember, that if you want to smock a particular part of a dress, first smock this part and then join it with other pieces to form a dress. Also, make all the marking on the wrong side of the fabric that won't be visible. Usually, the cuffs or sleeves of a dress are smocked. Smocked chest line is a popular fashion for dresses. This gives a classy touch to the outfit. You can have variations in the smock pattern. You can have wider or tiny pleats to have a detailed smock pattern. You can try this on a rough piece first and do variations as desired on the final fabric, to have a fantastic pattern ready!
How to Smock Fabric: Step-by-Step Procedure
Material You'll Need
* Fabric
* Cotton thread
* Needle
* Fabric pencil/chalk
* Elastic
* Pearl pins
* Smocking pleater (if available)
Procedure
Step 1
The first step of how to smock a fabric is to pleat it. You can mark the starting and ending point of smocking with a fabric pencil. While using a smocking pleater is an easy way of doing this, you can also do it without this equipment. While working on the fabric just remember 3:1 ratio and start pleating the fabric. This means, that you have to take 3 inches of un-pleated fabric and then 1 inches pleated fabric. Go on doing this. Read more on sewing.
Step 2
Pin the pleats with pearl pins as you move on. Keep 3 inches fabric plain from both borders. The total number of pleats formed must be even. Now mark a horizontal line along the length of the pleats.
Step 3
To keep the pleats in place use a running stitch, which you can easily remove later. Go on removing the pearl pins used previously while pleating the fabric. Mark the required number of rows for smocking on wrong side using a fabric pencil/chalk.
Step 4
Now thread the needle with 3 strands of cotton thread, tie a knot at the end. Now let's see how to smock with elastic. Take a narrow elastic of size bit smaller than length of the fabric you have after pleating. Now place the elastic thread on the wrong side of fabric, over the marking of second row. Go in stitching it in a row. Once you reach the end, put a back stitch so as to secure the stitches properly. Now put a knot and cut off the remaining thread. Learn how to embroider by hand.
Step 5
Start working on the next row below it in the same way with elastic and thread. Go on doing this till you finish the number of rows you have marked for the project. The smocked fabric is ready to be used. Instead of using thread and elastic you can use an elastic thread as well.
Remember, that if you want to smock a particular part of a dress, first smock this part and then join it with other pieces to form a dress. Also, make all the marking on the wrong side of the fabric that won't be visible. Usually, the cuffs or sleeves of a dress are smocked. Smocked chest line is a popular fashion for dresses. This gives a classy touch to the outfit. You can have variations in the smock pattern. You can have wider or tiny pleats to have a detailed smock pattern. You can try this on a rough piece first and do variations as desired on the final fabric, to have a fantastic pattern ready!
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