THE STUDIOLO: Hand-Smocked Window Treatments

I recently wrote this little fact sheet for ehow.com on hand-smocked window treatments. My article was limited to 200 words (I think I wrote about 250; what can I say, I'm verbose!) and it got me in the mood to expound a little on the subject. I can't say I didn't know what smocking was, I did – I even own a few sun dresses with smocking details on the front (and my Aunt Barbara added a hand-smocked embellishment to a dress she made for me when I was little). Maybe because its somewhat familiar, I've always sort of overlooked it. Well, this little blurb, which I wrote in exchange for some money, piqued my interest, so here I am, modifying my fact sheet for the blog in order to quench my knowledge-thirsty readers' questions. A version of the article also appears on examiner.com).

First things first: what is smocking? It is an embroidery technique used to gather fabric to create a ruffled repeating diamond pattern. In curtains, it runs the length of the header.

Smocking detail via The Shabby Nest

Unlike other embroidery methods that are purely decorative, smocking is unusual in that it was often worn by laborers. Developed in England in the 13th and 14th centuries and used extensively in apparel through the 18th and 19th centuries before elastic was available, smocking allowed practical garments for farmers and other workers to be both form-fitting and flexible. It was also employed in garments like cuffs and necklines, where buttons were undesirable.

Painting by Ambrosius Holbein, 1518, showing smocking on garment; Image courtesy Wikipedia

The use of smocks declined among farm workers in the late 1800s, but the embroidery technique later became a popular specialty detail added to high culture dresses and tea gowns. Decorative English smocking resurged in the 1920s and became even more popular in 1940, when the smocking pleater was invented, saving time and making it possible to use the technique on a variety of fabrics. Soon designers were inspired to add smocking embellishments on a variety of garments and, finally, curtains. I believe we saw a lot of smocking in the 1970s, which lead to our current terrycloth-ish-beach-cover-up-with-stretchy-smocking-fad

Due to its intricacy, smocking is best used on light- or medium-weight fabrics; solid silks and cottons are most common, but those with small or simple patterns work well without overshadowing the delicate details, and historically cashmere, pique and crepe de Chine were also smocked. According to Good Housekeeping: The Illustrated Book of Needlecrafts, “any fabric can be smocked if it is supple enough to be gathered.”

A variety of patterned smocked curtains are available at Elizabeth's Embellishments:

Luxurious hand-smocked curtains in different embroidery styles, from Varang

Hand-smocked curtains evoke an old-world, casual elegance that coordinates with many decor styles, but is most often combined with dressy feminine country or cottage-style decor. For best results, hang smocked window coverings with a decorative curtain pole or track using drapery hooks.

Check out Pottery Barn's options:

After poking around the great wide interwebs for smocking photos, I realized smocking is all over the place right now! Isn't it funny how something can be right under your nose but you don't see it until you're forced to really look at it?