Smocking is such a lovely old-world technique and looks fantastic on clothing and really good on pillows as well. The amazing thing that I recently found out was that smocking was really not hard at all with simple instructions. When I saw this video tutorial by Teresa Down Under On YouTube, which teaches us how to do a basic shell smocking, I learned that it wasn’t hard at all. You just get a ruler and make your markings on your fabric and number the dotted line you will make with dots around one inch apart. I bought a fabric marker from Joann’s Fabrics that is a purple-colored felt tip style and it actually disappears after several hours, which is perfectly long enough to finish your work. Make sure and download the Joann’s Fabrics app that will give you the coupons of the day which are always between 40 to60 percent off. Joann’s always has the best deals in town, it is my favorite store, bar none.

Materials:

• A piece of fabric
• Thread
• A needle
• A fabric marker (the disappearing kind are good)
• Scissors
• A ruler

Directions:

This shell smocking tutorial by Teresa Down Under on YouTube is so easy to follow. You start by drawing a grid on the back of your fabric.

Then, you just follow the tutorial instructions and this little project will be a breeze.

This is an absolutely lovely old-world technique that I absolutely love. I am making a pillow right now.

How To Do Shell Smocking