Smocking is an embroidery technique used to gather fabric so that it can stretch. Before elastic, smocking was commonly used in cuffs, bodices, and necklines in garments where buttons were undesirable. ... Smocking was used most extensively in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.

How do you do smocking?

Outline Stitch

1. Bring your needle up from the back on the left side of the first or third pleat. Remember you work smocking stitches from left to right!
2. Move the needle to the next pleat and put the needle through it from right to left at a slight angle up.
3. Keep the thread below the needle.
4. Repeat.

What does smock mean in clothing?

1 archaic : a woman's undergarment especially : chemise. 2 : a light loose garment worn especially for protection of clothing while working. smock. verb. smocked; smocking; smocks.

What are the different types of smocking?

Types of Smocking

• Fabric Used. Silk, linen, cotton, striped and gingham fabrics are used. ...
• Geometric Smocking. In this type only two stitches are used. ...
• Picture Smocking. For picture smocking hundred percent cotton fabric is used. ...
• Counter change Smocking. ...
• Mock Smocking. ...
• Direct Smocking. ...
• Lattice Smocking. ...
• Fabric Smocking.

What is the purpose of smocking?

Smocking is an embroidery technique used to gather fabric so that it can stretch. Before elastic, smocking was commonly used in cuffs, bodices, and necklines in garments where buttons were undesirable.

How to smock/shirr fabric easily with your sewing machine

44 related questions found

What is the importance of smocking?

Smocking is used to control the fullness of a garment, especially around the sleeve cuffs, bodice, shoulders, as well as in the front and back neckline, leaving the material following these areas free and loose fitting.

What does a smock look like?

The definition of a smock is a loose dress or blouse that you wear over your clothing to protect the clothing. A loose cotton shirt that you put on that covers the front and back of your clothes is an example of a smock. ... A long, loose, shirtlike outer garment worn to protect the clothes.

What is the difference between smock and apron?

Loose fitting and have sleeves which may be short or long in length, whereas aprons are sleeveless. ... Pockets on a smock are deeper than an apron and protect all of your upper body. Also known as “lab coats, counter coats or server coats”. Two main styles of smocks: jackets or coats.

Why is it called a smock?

THE ORIGIN OF THE WORD SMOCKS

It is said that the term was first coined to name the linen shirts worn by men and women during the Elizabethan era as undergarments. Gradually its definition shifted and came to be applied to the ornamental embroidered gatherings around the collars of these shirts.

What is the difference between smocking and shirring?

Shirring is gathering fabric to decorate garment sections like the yoke, sleeves, and bodice; while smocking is a technique where fabric is gathered as a decorative embroidery design. Shirring results in round tucks that are evenly spaced, while smocking creates pleats without a stretch.

Can smocking be done by machine?

The traditional craft of 'smocking' is a beautiful technique where embroidery stitches are sewn on the surface of fabric which is pulled up into tiny tucks or gathers. ... Today we can recreate this effect much more quickly using a sewing machine.

How hard is it to smock?

I have always been fascinated by smocking done on my girls' dresses and always thought it is too difficult to do. Realistically it is a little bit difficult to do than other embroidery work but the effort is worth it. ... Hope you also find some value from it and start smocking all the fabric in sight.

What is a smock coat?

Warm, windproof and often water-resistant, the over-the-head anorak (or smock, as they're often known) is perhaps one of the most versatile outerwear innovations, worn everywhere from the Arctic tundra to the high sea.

What is a smock jacket?

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Windproof Smocks are clothing. They usually come with hoods and matching trousers worn as over garments to prevent cold air, and in some cases water, passing through.

What is a Smok apron?

The Burn Resistant Apron for Smokers is a protective safety apron made from fire resistant fabric. Caregivers for individuals who smoke will find this coated fabric apron provides a protective covering to shield against hot ashes and dropped cigarettes.

What is English smocking?

English smocking is embroidery on prepleated fabric. ... While smocking is most frequently seen on clothing, this type of embroidery offers the adventuresome embroiderer opportunities to manipulate fabric into the third dimension.

Does smocking a product or a technique?

Smocking is a traditional embroidery technique that gathers fabric together into tight pleats so that it can stretch and return to its gathered shape. It is often used as a form of decoration on a garment, as the gathering of the material and stitches can be formulated to create patterns.

Is smocking popular?

With the limitation, and then removal of sewing as a curriculum from most schools, smocking has not been as popular now in the 21st century. For those of us who love this art and want to continue to see it thrive, we face the difficulty of helping those who wish to learn, not only how to smock but also how to sew!

What are the five basic stitches in smocking?

10 Basic Stitches You Should Know

• The Running Stitch. ...
• The Basting Stitch. ...
• The Cross Stitch (Catch Stitch) ...
• The Backstitch. ...
• The Slip Stitch. ...
• The Blanket Stitch (Buttonhole Stitch) ...
• The Standard Forward/Backward Stitch. ...
• The Zigzag Stitch.

How old is smocking?

Smocking might as well have been around since the beginning of time (that's how old it is). The first documentation of smocking was in 1175 BC with Elizabeth I! It was created in Europe and really became popular in the 1700s and 1800s.