Smocking & Advanved

Smocking Machine
Index

No. Topic Page

1. Smocking 2
2. Origin 2
3. Fabric Used 3
4. Comparison between Smocking & Shirring 3
5. Advanced Smocking Machine 4
6. KANSAI Machine Available Gauge 6
7. 25 Needle KANSAI Smocking and Shirring Machine 6
8. Smocking Types 7
9. Smocking Method 13
10. Gathering fabric for smocking: 13
11. Types of Smocking Stitch 14
12. Factors for Changing Smocking Designs in Machine 15

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Prepared by Salman Enayet Chowdhury, Lecturer, Primeasia University
Smocking:
Smocking is a special type of sewing machine, 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 is used to control the fullness of a garment, especially around the sleeve cuffs,
bodice, shoulders, and front and back neckline, leaving the material following these areas free
and loose fitting.

Figure: Smocking

Origin:
Smocking- an embroidery technique that is probably thousands of years old. The name is
coined only during 1700s in England. The technique used at the time was gathering. A full
work shirt was gathered at the bodice and the sleeves. This gathered effect in the garment was
then called a “smock”. Smocking was introduced to workman garments mainly to give fullness
or free movement of their body and arms. Smocked garments were worn by agricultural
labourers, tradesmen, and shepherds in earlier times. In the 19th century, smocks were received
by artists, to cover their clothing, and ladies adapted them in a modified form with fancy
embroidery. Later baby’s clothing, silk undergarments for ladies, and even afternoon dresses
appeared with smocking. Ladies’ magazines had instructions for hand smocking and patterns
for garments. At present smocking has become the fashion statement.

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Smocking requires lightweight fabric with a stable weave that gathers well. Cotton and silk are
typical fibre choices, often in lawn or voile. Historically, smocking was also worked in piqué,
crepe de Chine, and cashmere.

Fabric Used:
Silk, linen, cotton, striped and gingham fabrics are used. Firm fabrics are always preferred and
are easier to embellish.

One needs at least 3 times extra cloth for the width of the final piece. If one wants a final
smocked piece of 10 inches, he needs to take 30 inches of cloth to do the smocking. But then
it also depends on the tightness of the smocking stitches. If he makes very slack stitches the
cloth needed will be less. Add the seam allowance as well.

Comparison Between Smocking and Shirring:

Agenda Smocking Shirring

Definition Smocking is a technique where Shirring is gathering fabric to

fabric is gathered as a decorative decorate garment sections like the
embroidery design. yoke, sleeves, and bodice

Use Smocking is used for necklines, Shirring is used for the yoke,
cuffs, and bodices where there was bodice, and sleeves.
no need for buttons.

Function Smocking gives a round tuck pattern Shirring gives both flexibility and
as a decorative element. form-fitting.

Material Smocking and shirring require a fabric that is lightweight to provide a neat
weave and gather of fabric such as silk and cotton.

Method In smocking, the fabric is gathered Shirring is gathering fabric of more

in different ways to create fine pleats than a row and in a single pattern.

Size Smocking minimizes the garment Shirring reduces the fabric length to
reduction width by its original size, depending ⅓ of the initial width and the
on the used garment. tightness varies.

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 Agenda Smocking Shirring

Impacts Smocking can add in patterns Shirring can add in shape without
variably. any fiddling with alterations to the
pattern.

Elastic Smocking does not involve elastic Machine shirring makes use of
Thread thread elastic thread to inch apart the
bunching.

Table: Comparison Between Smocking & Shirring

Advanced Smocking Machine:

Kansai Brand Has 3 different types of Machines:
1. DFB & NB10 Series:
a. Produces Single Chain Stitch
b. Gives elasticity of garments up to 200%
c. Uses blind looper
d. Uses elastic thread only.
e. Saves cost of looper thread
f. One breakage of stitch line causes unravels.
g. Needs larger needle size (16~21), which causes hole marks in fabric.

h.

Figure: DFB & NB10 Series Smocking

2. PSET-MD Type Machine:

a. Double Chain stitch
b. Uses regular thread in the needle and elastic thread in the looper
c. Easier to repair skip stitch or thread breakage
d. No risk of hole marks (Needle Size 14). Can be used for thinner fabric.

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 e. Maximum elasticity is only 130%~150%

f.

Figure: PSET-MD Type Machine Smocking

3. PQ Series:
a. Double Chain Stritch
b. Maximum Elasticity is up to 200%
c. Elastic thread is inserted between the double chain stitch.
d. Easier to repair skip stich or thread breakage.
e. No risk of hole marks (Needle Size 14). Can be used for thinner fabric.
f. As elastic thread is not stitched into the machine, chances of coming out
during machine wash.

g.

Figure: PQ Series Smocking

KANSAI machine has metering device to control the elastic thread tension

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Kansai Machine Available Gauge:
Machine Type Gauge Stitch Width
12 Needle 3/16” = 4.8 mm 52 mm
1/4” = 6.4 mm 70 mm
25 Needle ¼ “ 152 mm
33 Needle 3/16” 152 mm

25 Needle KANSAI Smocking and Shirring Machine:

KANSAI machines follow below convention for naming:
Series Name Seam Type Needle Subclass & Subclass & Subclass
Numbers options options & options
NB 10 25 PSSM -ET -MD
10- Single 25- 25 Needle PSSM- Shirring ET- Elastic MD-
Chain Stitch 33- 33 Needle & Smocking (Looper) Metering
14- Double PS- Shirring Device
Chain Stitch

Table: KANSAI Model Naming Conventions

Machine Specifications:
Model Specifications

NB1025-
PSSM-
MD

Needle Thread Needle Type Gauge Stitch/ Presser Needle Max

inch Foot Bar Speed
Lift Stroke (rpm)
25 50 DV X 57LE ¼ 4~18 8 mm 34 mm 2000
18

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 Model Specifications

NB1425-
PQSM

Needle Thread Needle Type Gauge Stitch/ Presser Needle Max

inch Foot Bar Speed
Lift Stroke (rpm)
25 119 DV X 57 14 ¼ 4~18 8 mm 34 mm 2000

Table: 25 Needle KANSAI Machine Specification

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Smocking Types:

Both machine and handmade smocking can be classified into following types:

Smocking

English American Canadian

Smocking Smocking Smocking

Geometric Counter Change Lattice

Smocking Smocking Smocking

Picture
Mock Smocking Fabric Smocking
Smocking

Reverse
Direct Smocking
Smocking

Figure: Smocking Types

1) English Smocking
English Smocking is of two types namely:
i. Geometric Smocking
In this type only two stitches are used. They are Cable stitch and Trellis stitch. Simple
borders, lines and thousands of patterns can be created with cable and trellis stitches

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 Figure: Geometric Smocking
ii. Picture Smocking
For picture smocking hundred percent cotton fabric is used. Fabric folds are secured
very tightly. On the fabric folds, embroidery is done with stacked cable stitches. The
embroidered pattern should cover the fabric fully and the background fabric is not seen.
Pictures such as flowers, animals, birds and other sceneries’ can be created.

Figure: Picture Smocking

2) American Smocking
American Smocking is otherwise known as Counter change smocking. It has been popularized
by a young woman in Arizona, Anne Hallay. This smocking is done on gingham, striped, or a
gridded fabric. Basically 5/8” stripped fabric is made into squares and a honeycomb or vandyke
stitch is used to bring the sections together. Finished fabric will have the illusion of a solid
fabric.No pleating is used for this type of smocking. This type of smocking is more often used
in teenager’s garments. English Smocking is of three types namely Counter change Smocking,
Mock Smocking and Direct Smocking.
i. Counterchange Smocking
This type of smocking requires a grid. Most often striped and checked fabric is used

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 to do this work. No stretch is created in this type of smocking. Three times more
fabric is needed to bring to the required length and width.

Figure: Counterchange Smocking

ii. Mock Smocking
For this type of smocking, fabric folds are created. Any printed or plain fabric can
be used for this work. Little stretch is created in Mock smocking. Only honeycomb
pattern is created in mock smocking.

Figure: Mock/ honeycomb Smocking

iii. Direct Smocking
Grid pattern is used for this type of smocking. Following the pattern small stitches
are made and secured. Trim the thread and complete the pattern.

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 Figure: Direct Smocking

3. Canadian Smocking
Canadian smocking is also called as North American Smocking. In this type textural
effect is created on the front side of the fabric. No pleating is required for Canadian
smocking. A grid is drawn or designed on the back of the fabric. Later it is used to
create the three-dimensional effect on the front side of the fabric. This type of
smocking is not usually pressed or ironed. The texture would be flattened or destroyed
if the smocked fabric is pressed.

The fabric used should be cut on grain

 Pleating threads are parallel to the cross grain

 Fabric is not damaged by the needles or the pleating machine
 There are no folds, bubbles, or splits
 Any temporary marking has been completely removed
 Smocking is appropriately centred in garment
 No visible break on the front side where the threads have been stopped and
restarted
 Stitches catch only the appropriate pleats
 Stitch tension appears consistent for all stitches; tension is neither too tight that
pleats are pinched nor too loose so that thread sags
 Stitch depth is consistent
 Threads within stitches are laid smoothly
 Threads from any back smocking, are not visible on the front of the work

Types of Canadian Smocking

i. Lattice Smocking
It creates a beautiful pattern on the right side of the fabric. There are a few

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 variations where the pattern of stitches is worked on the front-one of these is
called flower smocking. The grid pattern is used to mark designs.

Figure: Lattice Smocking

ii. Fabric Smocking
This smocking is created with the grid pattern. Textural effect is created on the right
side of the fabric. Three times more fabric is required, and good stretch is created.

Figure: Fabric Smocking

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 iii. Reverse Smocking
This type of smocking is reversible. Patterns are seen on both sides. No thread is
visible on the right and wrong sides of the fabric.

Figure: Reverse Smocking

Smocking Methods:
Fabric can be gathered into pleats in a variety of ways.
Early smocking, or gauging, was done by hand. Some embroiderers also made their own guides
using cardboard and an embroidery marking pencil. By 1880, iron-on transfer dots were
available and advertised in magazines such as Weldon's. The iron-on transfers places evenly
spaced dots onto the wrong side of the fabric, which were then pleated using a regular running
stitch.
Preparing fabric for smocking:

 Preshrunk/ prewash the fabric before smocking. It is true that unwashed fabric looks
best when smocked but shrinking of fabric is a possibility. So, prewashing the fabric
is necessary.

 Take the cloth along the lengthwise grain of the fabric

 Professionals add light fusible interfacing to hold the pleats, especially for thin fabric.

Gathering fabric for smocking:

There are three ways you can gather the fabric

1. Hand gathering
2. Machine gathering:
Machine gathering is easy. Make basting stitches and gather. But the problem is that
machine gathering does not give even pleats.

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 3. Using a pleater

It is very very important that you get an even gathering, which means the pleat on the first row
and the second row should be the same for all gatherings. The pleats should all line up
vertically.
This is the most important thing that qualifies the beauty of smocking.
If you have a pleater all the problem goes away. The pleater does the job beautifully.
Since the early 1950s, pleating machines have been available to home smockers. Using gears
and special pleater needles, the fabric is forced through the gears and onto the threaded needles.
Pleating machines are typically offered in 16-row, 24-row and 32-row widths.

Types of Smocking Stitch:

Standard hand-smocking stitches are:
A. Cable stitch: a tight stitch of double rows
that joins alternating columns of gathers.
B. Stem stitch: a tight stitch with minimum
flexibility that joins two columns of gathers
at a time in single overlapping rows with a
downward slope.
C. Outline stitch: similar to the stem stitch
but with an upward slope.
D. Cable flowerette: a set of gathers worked
in three rows of stitches across four columns
of gathers. Often organized in diagonally
arranged sets of flowerettes for loose
smocking.
E. Wave stitch: a medium-density pattern
that alternately employs tight horizontal
stitches and loose diagonal stitches.
F. Honeycomb stitch: a medium-density
variant on the cable stitch that double
stitches each set of gathers and provides
more spacing between them, with an
intervening diagonal stitch concealed on the
reverse side of the fabric.
G. Surface honeycomb stitch: a tight
variant on the honeycomb stitch and the wave stitch with the diagonal stitch visible, but
spanning only one gather instead of a gather and a space.
H. Trellis stitch: a medium-density pattern that uses stem stitches and outline stitches to
form diamond-shaped patterns.
I. Vandyke stitch: a tight variant on the surface honeycomb stitch that wraps diagonal
stitches in the opposite direction.
J. Bullion stitch: a complex knotted stitch that joins several gathers in a single stitch.
Organized similarly to cable flowerettes.

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H. Smocker's knot: (not depicted) a simple knotted stitch used to finish work with a thread
or for decorative purposes.

Figure: Smocking Stitches

Factors for Changing Smocking Designs in Machine:

1. By the help of movable smocking spreaders located in front of needles.
The appearances can be changed by changing the thickness of smocking thread
2. Machine has 9 cams for different smocking designs. (For Kansai)
NB series → 3 smocking cam can be used at the same time
DFB series → 2 smocking cam can be used at the same time

a. b.

c. d.
Figure: a. Machine Cams, b. Cam Location, c. Standard Design d. Optional Design

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 3. There is a special finger in front of the presser foot which moves due to cam action.
That finger eventually helps forming Smocking design.
4. For more Shirring use Flat presser foot (It has 2 mm and 4 mm height adjustment
guide)

a.

b.
Figure: a. Flat Presser foot (Type B), b. Different Presser Foots

5. Stitch length
6. Tension of thread
7. Puller adjustment

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