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The Basic Smocking Stitches fall into two groups Straight Stitches and Travelling or zigzag Stitches. There are 17 Basic Stitches that form the foundation of your Smocking, once you have mastered the Basics you will find the Combination Stitches more managable. You can either go directly to the stitch you are interested in using the menu on the left or you can follow the instructions using the page navigation at the bottom of the article.
Straight stitches are sewn parallel to a set gathering thread. The difference in the appearance of the stitch depends on the location of the thread when sewing. Either 'up' which is above the needle's entry point or 'down' which is below te needle's entry point.
outline - stem - wheat - rope These stitches have the thread either all 'up' or all 'down' for the entire row of stitching.
- Try to use a long piece of thread to avoid a join in the center of the row, as this usually shows as an uneven stitch.
- Long threads tend to twist. Untwist your thread by holding the fabric or garment up and letting the needle hang down freely.
cable - chain - rickrack - florettes The thread will alternate 'up' and 'down' for the entire row of stitching.
Cable is the most commonly used stitch. You should therefor be confident sewing this stitch before attempting more complicated stitches. When you can sew this without having to concentrate on the tread direction you will be ready to try advanced stitches. Until then work on the basic stitches as they will familiarize you with thread direction and build your confidence the cable stitch.
These are stitches that climb up and down the pleats, in 'steps', in the space between gathering threads. They have a connecting cable stitch at the top and at the bottom as the stitch changes direction. (These are referred to as an up cable and down cable).
As you increase the number of steps in each zigzag, so you increase the elasticity of the smocked piece. Steps are the stitches made between the down cable and up cable in a travelling stitch. For example a 3 step trellis stitch will have: down cable, stitch, stitch, stitch, up cable.
Travelling or Zig-Zag stitches stretch easily they are ideal for 'round yoke' garments or items like Christmas balls.
This information was contributed by 2smock.com
Preassembled and Gathered Smocking Kits
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