Smocking Pleating Demystified! Marking and gathering methods explained- 16th C Smocked Shirt Series

[@ThimbleAndPlume]

What method is your method of choice? What methods did we miss?

[@lisacutten5573]

Your tutorial was a joy to watch and explained important info to me. If I hadn't watched your video, I would not have had enough fabric to do my hand pleating. I am a beginner and wondered what the advantages and disadvantages were of the even and uneven pleating. Now I know thanks to you! Thank you for saving me the frustration and waste of time and money! Being left-handed, I'm sure I'll have plenty of other challenges as I learn what is involved in smocking. I subscribed to your channel and look forward to watching more of your videos!

[@sallythekolcat]

Using plastic canvas to make a dot grid is going to save me so much time in smocking and sashiko. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

[@Mamadoll53]

Thank you! Love the way you listed both pros and cons of each method!

[@ThimbleAndPlume]

Glad it was helpful!

[@BreaknRemake]

This is fascinating!!! I love the examples from history too!

[@ThimbleAndPlume]

I am so glad you found it fascinating!

[@stainedglassprairie]

Wonderfully informative!

[@ThimbleAndPlume]

Thanks!

[@amandaglidewell8451]

I had no idea you guys had a KZbin channel! I just got done pleating the front of a gown I’m making for my niece with some pleating dots I purchased from y’all’s Etsy shop!

[@ThimbleAndPlume]

That's awesome! Welcome to the channel. We've only really got serious about a year ago. We add content as we can since we still work day jobs.

[@deborahkelly1018]

So helpful. Thank you!

[@sallyannball3553]

🤞you’re still checking your tutorials for questions. When hand pleating, how tightly do you gather the fabric? Is there any sort of rule of thumb, such as: draw the gathering in 1/4 or 1/2 the size of the original piece of fabric? I’m a bit over zealous when it comes to this sort of task (which is why I could never knit). My original practice piece of fabric was 12” square. I placed my marking dots: vertical columns dots were 1/4” apart and horizontal rows were 1/2” apart. After gathering, my practice piece is only 3” wide 🙄. I’m guessing I gathered too tightly? Please advise… thanks so much.

[@ThimbleAndPlume]

So, most English smocking stitches end up with a ration of 3 to 1. I do like to gather down fairly tightly when I am working my stitches, but when I release the gathering threads, they will open up more. You do need to be careful not to make your stitches super tight, though. Just pull them so they are taught, but not denting the pleat. I talk a bit more about this in my other smocking video. This one has all the basics kzbin.info/www/bejne/b2fdhXmlfKugsKc, and this one walks through the basic stitches kzbin.info/www/bejne/kHKTZH2vjbKGoLs. And here is a playlist of all my smocking videos kzbin.info/aero/PLNCcpUKH2nZTegckRGcTvZgfE9mBR19Ly

[@sallyannball3553]

@@ThimbleAndPlume thank you, very helpful. Would I be a “fan girl” if I admitted I’ve watched your videos multiple times? Sitting down today to gather a new longer piece of fabric, while listening to your videos. Not giving up.

[@ThimbleAndPlume]

@@sallyannball3553 Lol...naw, I think since its tutorial based, your fine. I'm just glad someone is watching. Lol. You got this! It does take some practice, so keep going!

[@cherylstraub5970]

You said that pleating was done as early as the 12th century? Could you share examples of this? It would greatly Interest me. Thank you.

[@ThimbleAndPlume]

So, there is the Kostrop dress, which is a viking age find that has some simple pleating at the top that may be a precursor to the type that comes later. Then in the 12th century, we have the Alb of St. Hugo that has an Italian shirring detail on the gore. I show a photo of that in the video. Those are the two extant examples. There is one painting that shows a smocked gore as well, but I don't can't remember the name off the top of my head. I can check my books later when I am back at home

[@pamelapalmer1250]

Very good tutorial

[@ThimbleAndPlume]

Glad you think so!

[@micheller5087]

How do you iron the material around the smocking?

[@ThimbleAndPlume]

I just iron around it and I use the tip of the iron in the spots between at the bottom of the smocking. Keep an eye out because I am going to do a video about how I care for linen items, so I will add how I press smocked items.

[@dragdecusut5861]

Hi! I have recently discovered the pleater machine and I am fascinated about it. I want to buy one, but I have a question and haven't found an answer yet. Maybe you could help me :) When the material is being pushed on the needles, how much space (in cm, mm or inches) is between the needle's punches when pleating with the machine? Thank you very much!

[@elizabethh5266]

Question! If I'm making a white shirt, and using a white thread as the gathering thread, can I just sew a stay to the outside if I don't want to deal with all the fancy embroidery and have the pleats stay put?

[@ThimbleAndPlume]

Sure. There are many examples if pleats being held in place by trim applied to tge outside.

[@lindahoffman5794]

Hi, I just.found your channel. I am learning smocking, and I want to learn how to pleat the fabric by hand; how do you determine how much fabric are you going to need? i.e.: if I am going to make a baby dress with a smoked inserted band, and I want to make a picture design on it, how close do I need to pleat my pleats?

[@ThimbleAndPlume]

It really depends on the fabric, the type of smocking you are doing, and the depth of the pleat. So, the best bet is to do a sample piece as a gauge. So, take a 10" strip and pleat that up, and do a couple lines of your design. That will tell you the ratio of fabric you need for your final design. You mention picture smocking, and the pleats need to be very close to each other in picture smocking. This type of design I use in this video has a similar pleat set up to picture smocking kzbin.info/www/bejne/gKCllIdnd9WCgsU, so it may be of some help.

[@anithasiva265]

Wonderful

[@ThimbleAndPlume]

Thank you! 😊

[@leylaygun67]

Ben turkiyeden enerji dolusunuz harikasınız bende yapmak istiyorum

[@ThimbleAndPlume]

You should do it!

[@SM-fi4nb]

Helo where to purchase this machine

[@ThimbleAndPlume]

It's called a smocking pleater . I got mine on ebay. We also purchased one through All Brands www.allbrands.com/categories/3466 and that went smoothly. Brands include Reed, Amanda Jane, Sally Stanley, Martha Pullen. Maybe I need to do a video talking about what to look for...

[@norainimat9655]

Where i'm can get thepaper knot smocking please help me

[@ThimbleAndPlume]

I'm not sure what you are referring to. Are you meaning the Smocking dots? If so, there is a link in the description

[@norainimat9655]

How much this pleater machine

[@ThimbleAndPlume]

They run about $150 all the way up to $400+. Depending on the size and the accessories. I got this one used on Ebay many years ago.

[@conniecarroll7222]

Okay, now I know that I do NOT want a pleating machine as I might end up throwing it against the room.I have a tendency of doing that when things do go like I want them to. Get it from my Mother.

[@ThimbleAndPlume]

They can be quite frustrating...especially at first. But that would be an expensive thing to throw, so I can see why you would steer away.

[@suenolan3086]

Hello...I subscribed to your channel in 2022 as I am an artist and sewer...therefore I especially love historical garments...I have come back again since one of my aims is to learn smocking and your historical examples, information and practical tips are valuable. May I please give you some feedback on your presentation? Firstly you speak quickly (obviously covering the most information in the shortest amount of time)...but then also the volume of your voice often drops and your words are slurred (I even missed your name at the beginning!)...plus distractingly loud music is played...all in all making it very difficult to hear what you are saying...which is such a pity as you have infectious enthusiasm for your subject. This is very disappointing as I sincerely want to watch, listen and learn...so please take what I have said in the spirit in which it is intended...to improve your channel so that I and others can gain full value from your expertise. With kind regards and God bless.

[@ThimbleAndPlume]

Thank you for your honest feedback. This is one of my earlier videos, so I have improved some in those areas. Still working on it though. I still struggle with diction, but I am working on it.