English Smocking
Marge Slamar a participant of Club 108, began English Smocking back in the 1980s when a member of her babysitting co-op taught her and other women in the co-op how to smock. Marge brought items to share at our last Club 108 meeting.
Smocking is essentially embroidery on pleated fabric. The art form that we traditionally think of as Smocking is primarily from The United Kingdom, is specifically known as English Smocking and has been practiced in its current form for over 300 years.
Marge smocked over forty dresses and rompers for her two daughters. She bought a mechanical pleater to pleat the material to be smocked and embroidered all the outfits. It was a labor of love and the girls enjoyed wearing their pretty outfits.
Recently, Marge was wondering what to do with all the outfits that she made. A friend visited from Alabama and suggested that smocked dresses were in popular demand in the southern states and that several churches were distributing clothing to people in need and the smocked dresses would be put to good use by the various churches. She asked her daughters which ones they wanted to keep and donated the rest of the dresses to a good cause.
For more information on smocking visit Google: YouTube smocking pleater.
