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How to Smock Fabric with Elastic Thread

It's easy to use elastic thread to create your own smocked fabric (aka shirring).

Ingredients

  • Elastic Thread
  • Lightweight fabric
  • Standard thread that matches your fabric

Instructions

  • You will use elastic thread in the bobbin of your sewing machine, but you cannot wind it on your machine. Handwind the elastic thread around a bobbin. Do not stretch the elastic thread as you wind, and move back and forth across the bobbin as you wind the thread on. Don't worry about making it look perfect, just continue winding elastic thread around the bobbin until it is nearly full.
    Hand winding elastic thread onto a bobbin
  • Place normal thread that matches your fabric in the top of your machine and thread the needle. Place the elastic thread bobbin in your machine.
    Sewing machine with blue thread in the needle and white elastic thread in the bobbin
  • Prep the top of your fabric by making sure it is cut straight across. Then sew your first line about 3/8 of an inch away from the edge of your fabric. Backstitch at the beginning and end of your line. You should see the fabric begin to gather up right away.
    Square of blue chambray fabric that's been gathered across the top with one line of elastic thread
  • Stitch another row about 3/8 inch away from the first row. The fabric will be gathered up, so stretch it out flat as you sew.
    Sewing with elastic thread on a sewing machine; fabric gathers from the thread, hand stretching fabric flat as it's being sewn
  • Continue sewing rows of fabric until you have as much smocked area as you would like.
    Piece of fabric smocked with elastic thread on a sewing machine
  • It's easiest to switch to a new bobbin in between rows. However, if you run out of elastic thread mid row that's ok. Just hand wind a new bobbin and then start by backstitching over the last few stitches you sewed. When you are done sewing, tie the two tails of elastic thread together (on the wrong side of the fabric) and trim any extra thread.
    Backside of fabric that's been smocked with elastic thread; any tails of elastic thread should be tied in a knot and trimmed
  • When you are finished, use your iron to shoot steam at the smocked area, which will cause it to gather up even more. You'll be able to see matching thread on the front of your smocked piece, and rows of the white elastic thread on the back of your piece.
    Square of chambray fabric that's been gathered on the top third using elastic thread; you can see blue matching thread from the front and rows of white elastic thread on the back