able of Contents Learning Decorative Stitches – the Art of Shirring and Smocking Table of Contents Introduction Gathering Using Cords for Gathers Staying a Gathered Seam Getting Started with Smocking Traditional Diamond Stitch Different Types of Stitches Cable Stitch Honeycomb stitch and Surface Honeycomb Surface Honeycomb Outline back stitch Also Known As Stem Stitch Chevron Stitch Wave Stitch Trellis stitch Measuring for Smocking Helpful Tips Gauging Machine Smocking Also Known As Shirring Tips for Machine Shirring Couching Fagotting Finishing the Smocking Conclusion Author Bio Publisher Introduction I was just moving around the local fabric market, when I noticed that a number of garments were embroidered with really attractive smocking stitches at the front and the back, the neck, yokes, pockets, sleeves, the bodices, necklines, bodices, cuffs, and even waists of a supposedly plain design and turn them into a thing of beauty. Smocking is supposed to have originated in Europe somewhere in the medieval times, where buttons could not be afforded by the laborers to fasten the garment and fullness needed to be controlled. This was done with multiple rows of gathered fabric which was controlled over a wide area. Nowadays, it is restricted to just babies and children’s clothing primarily, even though you can use it on any garment which needs a bit of decorative embellishment. Later on, smocking became a purely decorative design intended as a status symbol – the word originates from a peasants’ shirt also known as a smock. This was used extensively in almost every garment made by hand for laborers as well as for popular ordinary wear in the eighteenth as well as the nineteenth century. Smocking at that time was done with crewel needles or embroidery needles with silken threads or cotton threads depending on the fabric. You will need about 3 times the initial width’s material because of major part of it is going to be gathered up into folds, and stitched together. If you can gather the material, you can smock it. Naturally, this was the best way in which clothes could be “gathered together” in the absence of elastic. The fabrics on which the stitches work best are lightweight and ones that can gather easily. These include gingham, muslin, crêpe de Chine, Cashmere, Swiss cotton, voile, Batiste, cottons, and handkerchief linens.