Saturday, April 5, 2008

English Smocking Lessons - Using the Pleater (Tips from Paula Ellsworth)

Tips from Paula Ellsworth on using a pleater to pregather fabric for English Smocking.

(English Smocking is a type of embroidery that decorates pregathered pleats. Smocking stitches are worked from the right side of the fabric with a small stitch taken at each pleat formed by the pregathering.)


Fabric: Use a length of fabric that is at least 2 1/2 times the width of the bodice on your pattern. Batiste, cotton, light linen, muslin, or calicos all work well. Roll your fabric loosely on a dowel so that it is easier to handle as you roll it through the pleater.
Paula keeps all her spools of thread in a box with holes drilled into the top. She uses navy for the top and bottom (above and below the design) and red for the design rows. Use a heavier thread, like quilting thread, so that you don't risk breakage.
Thread the needles all the same direction. Paula threads from top to bottom, (hold a finger under the eye so that you can see the hole to thread the needle through, it's difficult against the black bottom of the pleater). Also, she counts the rows from left to right. Remember to count the design rows, plus a top and bottom guide thread. My design has six rows of stitches, so we threaded 8 needles. One end of the thread remains attached to the spools, the other end should be about 10 to 14 inches long, and is not knotted, just left hanging.
Carefully begin rolling the fabric through the pleater and onto the needles. Be careful to keep it straight and to do it slowly so you don't break a needle.
As the fabric begins to come out of the pleater - be careful to continually move the rows of pleating down the threads. If too much backs up on the needles, it can jam and break the needles.

Copyright 2008, Paula Ellsworth & Sarah Jane Mason (All rights reserved)
(Pullen Pleater copyright - Martha Pullen)

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

I just inherited a pleater from a friend, but it has no directions. Your tutorial is fantastic! I do have a problem that the needles have been taken out. Can you tell me how to insert the needles?

Engracia said...

bom dia,
sou brasileira, amo conhecer tudo que se refere a artesanato. Achei suas instruções para realizar roupa smocking excelente, pena que no meu País não encontre a máquina para plissar. Parabens e obrigada

Unknown said...

Hola me puede decir dónde puedo conseguir las agujas para la pleater vivo en México gracias

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