Tutorial: Designing Geometric Smocking Plates in Illustrator

Posted by Claire on Jun 23 2011

This is the third lesson in my series of tutorials on how to use Adobe Illustrator to create smocking plates.

This geometric plate features some of the most common geometric smocking stitches, including cable, wave and trellis. It also features a simple cross-over design to introduce working with multiple layers. It seems counter-intuitive that creating a geometric design should be more difficult than making a picture smocked design in Illustrator, since the opposite is true when stitching, but geometrics are more challenging because of their greater variability. Stacked cables are stacked cables to a large extent but geometric designs are all different and so no two projects can be worked in exactly the same manner.

You need to be comfortable manipulating vector shapes, understanding how to get them aligned, distributed and sized and working from a blank slate, rather than taking away pre-existing stitches like we did in the earlier picture smocking tutorials.

If you haven’t completed the first two tutorials, you’ll want to practice and complete them first before tackling the final tutorial on creating geometric plates, as I build on the basic skills from each of the earlier lessons. You’ll find the first two tutorials and all related downloads here:

Tutorial: Designing Smocking Plates in Illustrator
Tutorial: Multi-Coloured Smocking Plates in Illustrator.

You will need a copy of Adobe Illustrator to work with these files. It will work on either a Mac or a PC. However, the shortcut codes here are written for a PC. If you need the Mac codes, you will find them here.

For tutorial 3, download the following file from Dropbox:

tutorial3.ai

Learning Outcomes

In this tutorial, you will learn how to manipulate geometric stitch symbols to create a nine row smocking plate. You will learn how to modify and create original symbols. You will also learn how to create custom colour swatches.

Tools Used in Tutorial 3

Selection
(Hotkey: V)

Direct Selection
(Hotkey: A)

Hand

(Hotkey: Spacebar)

Zoom

(Hotkey: Z)

Zoom Out

(Hotkey: ALT+Z)

Text

(Hotkey: T)

Note: This tutorial is written with PC shortcuts. Many of the shortcut codes are the same on the Mac but for the complete list of Mac-friendly codes, click here

Instructions

1. Open the Adobe Illustrator file tutorial3.ai

2. Open Layers (Hotkey: F7) and lock the ‘row’ and ‘pleats’ layers. Unlock the cables layer and highlight it so you can work on it.

3. Open the Symbols window (Shift+Ctrl+F11/Windows>Symbols) and select the “cable pair”. Drag it onto the artboard.

4. Align the cable pair at the left edge of row 1 using the selection tool (Hotkey: V). Zoom in (Hotkey: Z) to increase magnification to get an accurate alignment on the pleats.

5. Change the keyboard increment (Ctrl+K) to 4mm. Tip: If your default setting is for measurements set to something other than millimetre, you can change the measurement setting by going to Edit>Preferences>Unit>General Measurements and selecting ‘millimetres’.

6. Hold down the Alt Key and tap the right arrow. The cable pair will be duplicated exactly 4mm from the original. Continue tapping the right arrow until the entire row is filled.

7. Change the keyboard increment again (Ctrl+K) to 16mm.

8. Using the selection tool (Hotkey: V) highlight the entire row of cables.

9. Copy the cables by clicking the right mouse button>transform>reflect. Select ‘horizontal’ and then ‘copy’ to create a mirror image of the row. The new row will be directly on top of the original row and highlighted.

10. Hold down the Alt key and tap the down arrow. The duplicated cables will move to the next gathering row. Continue moving the reflected cables until they are on row 9. Deselect the cables (Ctrl+Shift+A).

11. From the symbols window, select “Full Space Wave”. Tip: All of the smocking symbols are labelled. To see their title, simply hold the cursor over the symbol and its title will appear. Drag the Full Space Wave onto the artboard, placing it between rows 2 and 3, directly below the row of cable stitches.

12. Switch from Preview mode to Outline mode (Ctrl+Y).

13. Zoom in (Hotkey: Z) to 1200%. Using the selection tool (Hotkey: V), align the full space wave with the gathering rows and pleats. When it is aligned, zoom out by making the artboard fit the window (Ctrl+0). Return to Preview mode (Ctrl+Y).

14. Change the keyboard increment (Ctrl+K) to 8mm.

15. Making sure the symbol is still highlighted, duplicate the full space trellis across the width of the plate by holding down the Alt key and tapping the right or left arrow keys.

At this point, the stitches will likely not align with the edges of the plate. Don’t worry. We will clean up the stragglers at the end of the design process, once everything is finalized. For now, ignore any stitches that extend past the pleats.

16. Select the row of trellis stitches with the selection tool (Hotkey: V).

17. Copy the stitches by right clicking>transform>reflect. Select ‘horizontal’ and then copy. The mirror image will be highlighted.

18. Push the down arrow until the duplicated row is between rows 7 and 8.

Gosh. Looking at the plate, I see that those full space waves are just to big for the design. I want to change them but I don’t want to have to start from scratch. That’s OK. I can substitute one symbol for another. Here’s how.

19. Highlight the full space waves on row 2-3 and row 7-8. (Hotkey: V)

20. Next, click on the half space save in the symbols window.

21. With the full space waves still highlighted and the half-space symbol chosen, click on the dropdown menu in the top right corner of the symbols window and choose “Replace Symbol”.

22. In the workspace, all of the full space waves are now half-space waves. Tip: This substitution only works with symbols whose links haven’t been broken or otherwise changed from the original. If you break the symbols link and then decide you want to change it, you will need to manually delete the revised element from the workspace and replace it from scratch.

22. Change the keyboard increment to 2mm (Ctrl+K) and move the half space waves to row 1 1/2 and row 8.

23. Save your work as tutorial3yourname.ai. The second part of this tutorial can be found by clicking here and we will tackle creating new symbols, tweaking existing stitches to fit new applications and how to work with layers.

Tutorial: Blocking Smocked Yokes with Freezer Paper

Posted by Claire on Jun 15 2011

The moment that always scares me when I’m making a smocked dress always comes when I’ve got to cut away my smocking for the armholes.

Typically, the instructions say something like. “Block smocking. Trace armholes using pattern guide. Zig-zag inside the tracing. Cut.”

Sounds easy enough. How hard can it be? Well, smocking is stretchy. It doesn’t like being manipulated as you steer through the curves. It distorts under the presser foot. It stretches and shifts. And it’s next to impossible to get both sides perfectly symmetrical because the fabric is always moving. So suffice it to say, doing it the ‘standard’ way has caused me lots of grief over the years.

So I’m going to share my completely unorthodox method of cutting those pesky armholes. I’ve never heard of anybody else doing it this way but since I discovered it, I’ve given up doing armholes and neck the old-fashioned way. It uses my secret weapon, freezer paper, and makes marking and cutting those armholes darn near painless.

If you’re a quilter, you’ve probably used freezer paper before. It’s a thick, plastic coated paper that can be used to wrap meat and other items destined for the freezer and protect them from spoilage. But it has lots of other uses, too, particularly in quilting, where it’s often used in appliqués and as guide for quilting shapes. You can mark it with a pencil, cut it easily with regular craft scissors into all sorts of shapes and trace through it. Best of all, because one side of the paper has a plastic coating, when you apply heat from an iron, it temporarily adheres to the fabric, making it stiff and easy to handle.

You get where I’m going with this?

Here’s what you need to block a smocked yoke using my freezer paper method.

completed smocked yoke, gathering threads removed (if there is embroidery, it should be completed after the armholes are zig-zagged and cut out)
chosen pattern with blocking/armhole guide
pencil
sewing scissors
freezer paper
iron
pins
smocking board or other flat, pinnable surface like an ironing board

1. Trace the blocking guide with the armhole shapes (and neck, if you’re doing a full smocked yoke) provided by your specific pattern onto the freezer paper. The paper side should be right side up; the shiny plastic side on the bottom. If your pattern only provides a half width guide, make a full width pattern. It can be helpful to mark the CF/CB on the guide, either with a ruler or by folding the freezer paper template in half.

2. Draw the seam allowances around both armholes and the neck, if applicable. Cut away the seam allowances from the armholes and neckline only.

3. Pin the smocking face down on the smocking board. Block the yoke to the width indicated in your chosen pattern, being sure to keep the edges straight and the top edge even. I like glass headed pins for this, as I don’t have to worry about melting the pins inadvertently.

4. Hold the iron above the smocking and steam the pinned piece thoroughly. Let cool. Leave pinned to the board.

4. Lay the freezer paper guide on the back side of the cool, blocked smocking. Different blocking guides will have you align your pattern differently. In my case, I aligned the bottom of the guide with the lowest row of smocking. You want the guide to be accurately centred; count the pleats visible at both the right and left side. Adjust as necessary until the guide is as straight and even as possible.

5. Following the directions on the freezer paper, adhere the freezer paper template in place. Start with the armholes. Be careful not to crush the pleats at the bottom of the smocking as you work.I have found the best results when I hold the iron in place for a count of 7-8 seconds on a cotton setting, with no steam; experiment to see what settings work best for your brand of freezer paper and iron.

6. Let the freezer paper cool. Remove the pins from the smocking. When you pick up the yoke, it should be stiff and the freezer paper evenly adhered. If any points are loose, just touch the tip of the iron to re-secure. It is fairly hardy but still remember to be gentle with the piece, as you don’t want the freezer paper to detach before you have sewn the zigzag stitching.

7. Using a zig-zag stitch (L 1.8-2.0, W 2.0), stitch just next to the freezer paper template. The yoke will be stiff and you will be able to pivot easily around the curves. No stretching. No distortion. Hoorah!

8. Turn the piece over and check that your armholes are symmetrical. Do they curve at the same points? Do they cross the same rows at the same point? If necessary, do a second pass with the zig-zag stitch to compensate for any small discrepancies between the two sides so that they are identical. Check the neckline in the same fashion if you are blocking a full yoke design. Carefully peel away the freezer paper template when you are satisfied with the shaping.

9. Now for the moment of truth. Cutting. Cut just outside the zigzag stitching. I promise the smocking and pleats won’t unravel, because they’ve been secured by your stitching. So cut already! 🙂

In the close-up from the right side, you can see that thanks to the freezer paper, the pleats are very straight and undistorted. They haven’t stretched out of shape at all. Nor are there any markings that need to be removed. Much easier, in my humble opinion.

Here is the yoke, with both armscyes cut out. It is now ready to be sewn into the dress. Follow the contruction instructions for your individual pattern from this point on.

I hope you find this tutorial useful and that it makes prepping for armholes in your smocked garments easier.

A New Project Underway

Posted by Claire on Jun 09 2011

Now that soccer season has started and I’ve got two boys playing this year, I’ve started another smocking project to keep my hands occupied on the sidelines. I know, I know, what kind of a parent smocks during the game? Who am I, daring to look away from all the scintillating action of 12 five year olds meandering round the field after a ball like a bunch of neon coloured lemmings? The kind who has to sit through 2 games and 2 practices every week from June to the end of August, that’s who. 🙂

I cheer. I encourage. I smock. I think it’s a fair trade off.

Here are three things I can promise you about the new dress:

1. It is not a bishop.

2. It does not have bullions, detached chain leaves or surface embroidery of any kind.

3. It does not have lace, insertion, beading or edging, either.

Because I need a break from all of those things.

I’m using a really lovely red and white striped cotton. It’s glazed so it’s got a bit of a sheen to it and 36″ wide, rather than the more common 45″. I picked it up a while back on a buy 1, get 2 free deal so for $6, I got plenty to make a dress.

For the first time ever, I’ve hand gathered my pleats. I did it this way, rather than trying to get it through my pleater so I could be assured of a nice regular pattern. The stripes are perfect for this, as the white stripes are approximately 3/16″ and the red stripes are 1/8″.

Wasn’t hard, just took a bit of time to get it done. I drew faint pencil lines on the wrong side, each 1cm (3/8″) apart, which is the same spacing as my Read pleater then picked up the pleats with a running stitch.

Here’s what it looks like from the front side:

And from the back:

And here’s what it looks like when it’s gathered. As you can see, the white dominates as I had wanted. I’m going to be smocking a simple geometric design in red, so I wanted it to stand out. (I think it’s fair to say, this won’t be a *subtle* dress when it’s all done up :))

My pleating ratio worked out to about 3.6:1. I didn’t tie off super tight since I’m not an overly tight smocker. Once I block it, I’ll see what the final numbers look like but they’ll be close to that, probably about 3.2:1. I will have to add width to the sides, since I’m making a partial yoke dress and the fabric is too narrow for the size 5 I’ll be making.

And for all the folks who’ve been downloading my Illustrator tutorials for designing your own smocking plates, I have been making good progress on writing the third tutorial on geometrics. I’ve finished the plate and am now writing the step by steps. I expect to have it up in the near future, so keep your eyes open for that. I’ve had a lot of feedback from people who’ve found them really useful and that makes me happy I can share my knowledge so other smockers’ design efforts are that much easier.

Cherie, the Swiss dot bishop, finished

Posted by Claire on Jun 06 2011

I’ve finished “Cherie”. Put the last stitch in Saturday evening.

The deadline was tight but after promising myself I would get this UFO FO’d it’s all done and I love it. You can see my progress over the past few weeks here and here.

(Stanley’s standing up straight; the wind is blowing the dress crooked. :))

I think this may be the favourite of all the dresses I’ve ever made. It’s just got so many details I love. Is it wrong to want to pet a piece of clothing? Because I want to pet this. Badly!

I worked 84 bullions on this dress. And 376 detached chain leaves. That’s a lot of flowers but it was worth it.

The embroidered placket with seven small pink buttons interspersed between the embroidered rose medallions:

I hand whipped the lace to both edges, rather than attaching it by machine before sewing on the placket to the front edges as the instructions suggested and I’m glad I did it that way, rather than trying to fiddle with the lace and the button band and the smocking and getting everything straight and even. I know myself and it just wasn’t going to happen.

The puffed sleeves. Again, the lace here was also hand sewn.

Of course, when Ellie wears it, she’ll have on a fine batiste petticoat but the petticoat is at home in Ottawa, so I’ve modeled it on Stanley without. Please overlook his immodesty. 🙂

And the three bands of lace around the hem. This is the only change I made from the pattern: I left off the four rows of feather stitching. I felt the dress was complete enough without it.

It’s a beautiful June day here and it was far too lovely to take pictures inside against a boring beige wall so Stanley and I decided to move our photoshoot outdoors. The irises have started to bloom. I’ve got tiny pale purple ones and big gold ones and cream ones, just starting to open. And these ones: rich purple with golden throats. My favourite.

I hope it’s as beautiful where you are.

Cherie Bishop update

Posted by Claire on May 29 2011

I promised an update last week on this beautiful swiss dot bishop that I unearthed from my sewing room.

I’m happy to report that it’s coming along really nicely. Here’s where I’d gotten it to last week:

As of this morning, here’s what I’ve accomplished:

As you can see, I’ve completed all of the bullions around the neckline (there are 69, plus another 14 on the button band, in case you were wondering) and all of the flowers and french knots on the embroidered centre band.

Now, I’m finishing up the leaves around the roses on the button band. I used two strands for the leaves on the smocking but only one on the medallions. That’s because the rose medallions on the band are very tiny and with two strands the leaves looked like something that had escaped from Day of the Triffids. Hardly the look I was going for.

To give you a sense of the scale, each one is smaller than a loonie (or slightly bigger than an American quarter, for my non-Canuck readers!) For their leaves, I only used one strand for the detached chains and I think it’s perfect.

What’s left? Well, I’ve cut the arm bands and the neck binding. I still have to finish the sleeves, attach the front bands, bind the neckline and whip stitch the lace to all three. I’ve got five days, since my SIL arrives Friday. I can do it. It’s just going to be tight.