Modern smocking part1 + Sample

Debbie Shore

Canadian Smocking Techniques & Patterns

Modern Smocking

PART 1

2Copyright Vivebooks 2013

Vivebooks, an imprint of Rainbow Disks Ltdwww.vivebooks.com

5 Linden ValeHowell RoadExeter EX4 4LFUK

First published in the UK in 2013

Text and projects Debbie Shore 2013Photographs & Video Garie Hind 2013

Video by Garie HindEditor: Vivienne WellsPhotography: Garie Hind

ISBN 978-1-906314-52-1ISBN 978-1-906314-53-8 (download)

Debbie Shore has asserted her right to be identified as author of this work in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be repro-duced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, by photocopying, record-ing or otherwise, without prior permission in writing from the publisher.

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

ISBN 978-1-906314-52-1ISBN 978-1-906314-53-8 (download)

VIVEBOOKSwww.vivebooks.com

Go by the bookBy buying our ebooks, you are help-ing us to pay authors a fair income for their very hard work. Please note that copying this ebook for your friends is strictly against the law. So, don't be a book cheat stay within the law and buy them their own copy!

These patterns/designs are for your personal use only, or for the pur-poses of selling for charity. They cannot be used for commercial pu-poses without the prior permission of the Publishers.

Thank youVivienne WellsVivebooks

Contents

3

Contents 3

Using this ebook: tips 4

Introduction 5

Useful Tools 9

Let's Get Started 11

Stitching 14

Arrows 19

Lattice 25

Bones 29

Hearts 33

Leaf 37

Cobblestones 41

Waves 45

Matrix 49

Debbie Shore 55

More Vivebooks 56

To go to chapters or projects, click on the headings here, use the Bookmark links (click on the icon at the top left of the Adobe Reader window) or scroll through the page Thumbnails (click on the icon next to the Bookmarks).

caption From the top: Lattice, Cobblestones, Leaf, Bones and Waves

Using this ebook: t ips

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Browsethroughthisebookbyscrollingthroughthe pages as with any document, or by using theAdobeReaderBookmarks(likeaninteractivecon-tentslist)andpageThumbnails-theywilltakeyouquickly to the chapter, project or page you needwhenyouclickon thatpageorproject in the list.These Bookmarks and Thumbnails are activatedby clicking on their icons (looking like tiny pag-es) at the top left of yourAdobeReaderwindow.

TheContents listonpage3 isalso interactive.Clickonanyofthechaptersinthelisttogotothatpage.

Uselinkstogodirectlytootherpageswithinthisebookortowebpages.Clickonthelinks,showninblue,eg:DebbieShore'sblog.IfyouclickonthebluetextitwilltakeyoutoKatie'swebsite,whenyouareconnectedtotheInternet.

Sothatyoucanquicklyfindthepageyouwerelast viewing, activate the 'PreviousView' and 'NextView'buttonsonyourtoolbar,toactliketheBackand Forward button on your Internet browser.Right-click/Control-click the toolbar, go to MoreToolsandselectthesetoolsbyclickingtheirboxes.

Use the zoom tool to zoom in on close-updetails in photographs, and see the beadworkgreatly enlarged. Activate the 'Marquee zoom' todrag a box around the area you want to enlarge.

Printoutpagesforeasyandportablereference.Eachprojectgivesthepagenumbersforthatproject,soyouknowwhichpagestoprintout.Whenprintingouttemplates,makesurethatyouswitchoffany'shrinkto fit' or similar commands in your print dialogueboxtoavoidchangingthesizeofthetemplates.ThepagesprintoutwellonA4andUSLetterpapersizes.

Usethesearchfacilitytofindspecificwords.

To play a video, click on its image. YoumaybedirectedtodownloadandinstallFlashplayer- if so, do this. Wait a few seconds for the videotostart.Acontrollerwillappearunderneathsothatyoucanplay/start/stopetc.Toclosethevideoandgobacktothepages,clickonthetoprightcornerofthevideoscreen.

CopythePDFfiletoyourcomputer'sharddisk,ifyouboughtitonadiskitwillworkfasterfromthere.Ifyouhaveanyproblemsprintingfromthisfileorviewingthevideo,thefirstthingtotryisdown-loading and installing the latest version ofAdobeReader(evenifyoualreadyhavethelatestversion).

OniPhone,iPad,AndroiddevicesandKindleFire,currentlythebestpdfreaderisezPDFReader,whichwill play the embedded video (Adobe Reader forthesedeviceswillnotplay theembeddedvideo,attimeofpublicationofthisebook).Formoreinforma-tion,seewww.vivebooks.com

Introduction

A few years ago I was having a sewing-related chat with my best friend Ruth, and the subject turned to cushion covers. My Grandma had a book about smocking, said Ruth, its full of dots you join to-gether to make patterns. You should do that! And she promised to find the book so that I could have a go. Meanwhile I started searching for patterns, which turned out to be difficult as there is very little information out there, while Ruth was still searching for Grandma's book.

Many of the patterns I found for this type of smock-ing ('Canadian' or 'Lattice') seemed very compli-cated at first, but I eventually figured them out, and sometimes I adapted them to make them simpler. The more I smocked, the more I fell in love with the techniques and effects of pinching, folding and

stitching. Slowly, this ebook came to be as I discov-ered smocking with modern, fresh coloured fabrics like the gingham, and enjoyed developing ideas for more than just cushion covers: things like bags and chair covers. I have to say that I am well and truly hooked on smocking!

Meanwhile, Ruth is still searching for Grandmas missing book . . .

PS As we were putting this ebook together it became clear that the large amount of video (well over an hour) creates a file that was rather too large. So, it has be-come a pair of ebooks: Modern Smocking Part 1 and Modern Smocking Part 2. To get all the patterns and information, make sure that you have both parts.

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6introduction

Canadian Smocking

North American or Canadian (or Lattice) smocking is a way of creating texture by marking, pinching and stitching over grids or dots to form a pattern. Its a bit like origami with fabric, and the results can be used to decorate a variety of projects, from cushion covers to clothing.

This type of smocking was popular in the 1950s and 60s; you may remember those nostalgic velvet cush-ions . . . Velvet is still a popular choice but any fabric that reflects light or has texture will show off the pleats and folds that smocking creates. A fluid dra-pery fabric that can keep its shape is preferable. Try satin, crepe, or, for a more contemporary effect, how about cotton, chambray, recycled denim or even hes-sian? A plain fabric rather than a pattern will show-

case your work best, although a woven gingham can create a country look and a wide stripe works well with certain designs. If youre unsure about your work, try a small area before committing to the whole project.

In this ebook, Ive put together 15 patterns for you to try, plus instructions for the Matrix Round Cush-ion, which should play a starring role in your display of smocked cushion covers. You will also find instruc-tions for a simple zipped cushion cover. There are videos showing me demonstrating the techniques which I hope will guide you through and give you confidence. (See the video introduction overleaf.) The pattern grids can be printed out on your home printer for easy use.

Matrix Round Cushion. The plain but thick tex-tured fabric is ideal for showing off the pleats and folds. This is the first smocked cushion I ever made.

7I have taken away the jargon and the mathematics so that even a complete beginner can use this ebook to master the techniques of smocking. And as most people want to make cushion (pillow) covers, I have given you two different sizes of cushion to work with.

When you are used to the methods, experiment with different fabrics, mix designs together, and apply the technique to anything from dressmaking to curtains! Please dont think these are quick sewing projects, some of the more complex designs like the Bows in Part 2 can take around six hours to complete.If you would like more help or information, see my blog or my forum: Short Cuts to Sewing.

Debbie

http://debbieshore.blogspot.co.uk/ http://www.shortcutstosewing.co.uk/

introduction

Video: Introduction by Debbie Shore

Smocking on gingham fabric: this is the four-point flower pattern in Modern Smocking Part 2.

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introduction

More smocking on gingham fabric: this is the Giftwrap pattern from

Modern Smocking Part 2.

Smocking can be used on all sorts of projects. Here is the Bows pattern from Modern Smocking Part 2.

1010

useful tools

Scissors a good pair of dressmaking shears for cutting fabric and a small pair of embroidery scis-sors for snipping threads.

Turning tool a wooden tool with a point at one end, perfect for pushing out the corners of your cushion covers without piercing your fabric.

Pins, and lots of them! Long pins with large col-oured heads will go through layers of fabric, and as youll be using a lot of them the coloured heads mean they wont be lost in your work!

Buttons come in handy to hide slight mistakes.

Kettle always nice to have a cuppa while youre working . . .

Dressmaking and embroidery scissors

Turning tool

Buttons come in handy

11

Let's Get Started

How much fabric?

Working out how much fabric you need is the com-plicated bit, as smocking causes the fabric to shrink, and each smocking pattern has a different rate of 'shrinkage'. There are mathematical equations where-by you can work out to the exact inch how much fabric youll need, but personally I think its difficult, and I like to get on with the sewing, not the maths!

So, for this book, Ive worked out how much fabric youll need in each design to make either a 16in or 12in square cushion (pillow) cover. I have chosen cushion covers for the projects because I think these make easy projects for the beginner.

For the 16in cushion Ive allowed a smocked area of 14in, with a 2in border. For the 12in cushion Ive al-lowed a 10in smocked area with a 2in border. Both use a 1in seam allowance. If you want to smock the entire area and not have a border, then please add a couple of inches to the grid.

Always allow at least 6in in addition to my measure-ments for each design, as the finished size may be affected by the weight of fabric you choose, and its easier to cut a piece down than make a small piece of smocking larger.

Finished piece of smocking, showing the unsmocked border and generous seam allowance. Notice how the smocking 'shrinks' the fabric. This is the Bones pattern

14

Stitching

In smocking patterns, some stitches are pulled tight and others are left slack. It is the interplay between these tight and slack stitches that creates the differ-ent smocking designs.

When we pull on a stitch that is supposed to be tight, we don't want to also pull on a neighbouring stitch that needs to be slack, so certain stitches have to be knotted before and after they are stitched to 'isolate' them from other stitches. The instructions and vid-eos for each pattern show clearly where to make the stitches and where to add knots.

Knotting your thread where necessary also means that your patterns don't come undone with wear or in the wash, so your creations will be appreciated for many years to come!

On the next few pages I am going to use the Arrows design as an example to show you how to stitch the smocking, but the principles apply to any of the pat-terns you choose from this book.

Here also are techniques such as borders with mitred corners, and how to make a zipped cushion cover.

Some of the patterns in this ebook. From the left: Bones, Waves, Matrix, Waves on a smaller grid, Cobblestones and Leaf

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Lattice

Lattice smocking

Fabric needs/grid sizes (1in squares)

16in cushion cover: grid 32 x 32


Add at least 6in to these lengths to allow for a border and seam allowance. NB Different fab-rics give different finished sizes if in doubt smock a larger area!

Lattice is one of the most effec-tive and recognised smocking designs, but it is really not too

complicated! The fabric reduces evenly but by half and could

easily be adapted for dressmak-ing or bags. It's very stretchy, so makes great cushion covers. Use on a half inch grid for cuffs on a blouse or detail on a childs dress.

I found that heavyweight fabrics work well for a Lattice cushion cover, and that velvet is quite

forgiving. Look in a curtain fabric department for fabric ideas.

2929

Bones

Bones smocking




Add at least 6in to these lengths to allow for a border and seam allowance. NB Different fabrics give differ-ent finished sizes if in doubt smock a larger area!

Bones is a lot more elegant than its name implies! It works well on fabric with a plush or a sheen, so velvet, satin, heavy silk and even fleece would be successful. Ive left a border around the smocked area here as I think it makes the outline neater, but you could smock right up to the edges of your cush-ion - just add a few more squares to your grid.

3333

Hearts

Hearts smocking




Add at least 6in to these lengths to allow for a border and seam allowance. NB Different fabrics give differ-ent finished sizes if in doubt smock a larger area!

A velvet fabric works well for Hearts, as you can see in this cushion. I have also used a red crepe fabric (see photo below) as it gives a really rich, luxurious feel.

Hearts smocking design reduces the fabric size by different amounts in the length and width, so the grid is a rectangle not a square.

3535

hearts

The reverse of Hearts

The surprisingly exciting effect of Hearts on hessian fabric!

Debbie Shore

55

Debbie Shore is a sewing author, actress and presenter for Create and Craft TV. She writes a regular column for a popular UK sewing magazine and produces her own range of instructional DVDs. Her sewing tutori-als on YouTube have thousands of subscribers. Debbies previous books include the bestselling Making Cushion Covers, and the recently published Half Yard Heaven and Sew Bunting. Contact Debbie via her blog or her forum, Short Cut to Sewing, or subscribe to her YouTube channel:

http://www.youtube.com/user/thimblelane

http://debbieshore.blogspot.co.uk/

http://www.shortcutstosewing.co.uk/

More Vivebooks

Title pageCopyright pageContentsUsing this ebook: tipsIntroductionUseful ToolsLet's Get StartedStitchingArrowsLatticeBonesHeartsLeafCobblestonesWavesMatrixDebbie ShoreMore Vivebooks

Modern smocking part1 + Sample

Documents

Transcript of Modern smocking part1 + Sample