I am back with the next in our Smocking: The Basics series. Today we are going to discuss fabric selection. Many different fabrics may be smocked, but some are definitely easier than others, so the purpose of today’s post is to give you a sense of where to start. What is the easiest fabric to work with, both from a pleating and smocking perspective? I mention both a pleating and smocking perspective because the two are not the same thing. In general, a loosely woven fabric wi

This is the fifth of our Smocking: The Basics posts. Previous posts include the History of Smocking Part 1 and Part 2, Pleating Resources and How to Read a Smocking Graph. A video showing how to center the design can be found at the bottom of this post. If you are interested in smocking, please check out my Learn to Smock Course and free Get Started Smocking email series! Smocking by its very nature is geometric and in most cases, in order to be pleasing to the eye, needs to

Today I am turning the blog over to Kelli Fox who continues to smock for her lovely teenage daughter! Yes, you can do this and Kelli and her daughter Gates are here to show you how, so here is Kelli! Many women have commented, and I agree, that I am fortunate my now 13-year-old daughter, Gates, is still willing to wear smocking. I do indeed count my blessings because smocking is a passion that has given me so much more than beautiful clothes and heirlooms. Smocking is a fair