Rocking Smocking - by Laura Burch & Kasja McLaren (Paperback)

About the Book

"A guide to sewing beautiful and modern smocking for the modern sewist."--Provided by publisher.

Book Synopsis

A guide to sewing beautiful and modern smocking for the modern sewist.

"For a modern makers of all levels who love a classic art form." LIBRARY JOURNAL

Rocking Smocking is a contemporary guide to using joyful colour and bold graphic pattern to create smocking that adds a beautiful decorative touch to handmade garments. This image-led, modern guide is suited to both smocking learners and experts as well as lovers of colours and patterns.

Offering both instruction and inspiration this fashion-forward guide walks you through the basics of English smocking and offers a kaleidoscope of ideas for how to bring these hand stitches to life by combining thread colours, stitch motifs, and dramatic smocking placement to fabulous effect.

• It starts by setting out the basics of smocking--what you will need, how to choose and prepare fabric, and basic stitches.
• The second section lays out different strategies for choosing thread colours
• The third section goes through the design process: using 10 smocking panels to replicate at home, it shows readers how to rock their smocks by blending fabrics, smocking patterns, and colors to sensational graphic effect
• The final section looks at how and where to place smocked panels on your garments, adding volume to dramatic effect with 6 smaller on-trend fashion projects.

Equally appealing on the coffee table or in the studio, Rocking Smocking is a visually beautiful guide celebrating modern applications of this ancient craft.

Review Quotes

LIBRARY JOURNAL
Burch and McLaren are smocking experts and the founders of Smock London, an artisan fashion brand. Their colorful, modern aesthetic comes through in this thorough and beautifully illustrated guide to English smocking, an embroidered stitching technique worked on pleated fabric. Suitable for beginners but also inspiring for advanced sewists, this book starts with the basics. It covers learning fundamental stitches, choosing and preparing fabric, and picking thread colors for visual impact. The book's 13 smocking designs range from simple to complex. There are plenty of pictures that show the best areas to place smocking features on a garment, too. The final section goes through the entire process step-by-step. The layout is well organized, accessible, and easy to follow.
VERDICT An engaging book that combines clear instructions with detailed photographs of colorful garments created with the English smocking technique. For a modern makers of all levels who love a classic art form.

About the Author

Laura Burch and Kajsa Mclaren are lifelong friends who launched their brand Smock London in 2019. They met at Oxford University, where they bonded over their shared passion for design, craftmanship, and color. They modernize the beautiful craft of smocking for the 21st century through a combination of bright, bold, and original smocking design.