* This article can be found in Sew Beautful Issue #102, September / October 2005 *
For a printable PDF version of this article, click here
| DESIGN: Picture Smocked Geckos |
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| MATERIALS sample is size 3 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| DIRECTIONS |
| PATTERN ADAPTATIONS 1. Cut 4-1/2-inches off the leg bottoms and add a double 1/4-inch hem in lieu of the knicker cuff. 2. Make a 1-inch wide casing for the waist elastic with no ruffle. SMOCKING • Design is worked over 134 pleats. • Pleat 10 rows; smock eight. The first and last are holding rows only. • Backsmock Rows 1-8. Lizards After smocking about a dozen of these lizards, I finally settled on the most efficient order of completion. 1. Using four strands of #320 begin at the red cable on the graph. Working toward the head, cable the body and head only, stopping and turning at the red lines. Legs will be added later. 2. Start a new row at the yellow cable. Work all the way across and finish the leg. Tie-off. 3. Begin at the blue cable. Work toward the tail until reaching the next full-space row. Continue across the row and finish the leg. Tie-off. 4. Begin at the pink cable. Work the bottom of the tail. Pull the thread across the back up to the turquoise cable, and complete the upper tail. 5. Add the remaining legs. 6. Embellish the lizard’s back as desired. In the sample, I used two strands of #321 couched with one strand of the same. On other lizards, I have used a stem stitch or chain stitch, which also works well. |
| Flies 1. Using four strands of #347, follow the chart. 2. Add lazy daisy wings using two strands of #647. Dragonflies 1. With one strand each of #312 and #813, make a 15-wrap bullion. Be careful not to twist the strands while wrapping, and the dragonfly will be nicely striped. 2. Add two, two-wrap French knots to form the eyes using two strands of #312. 3. The wings are lazy daisies using two strands of #647. -SB Resources See Tomorrow’s Treasures and Tess Heirloom Needlework listed in the Shopping Guide on page 82. About the designer Theresa Ellenwood lives in Southern Maryland with her husband and four children where she teaches smocking, designs heirloom clothing, and does custom sewing. She also “spins and canes” as a member of her local fiberarts guild. Having been taught to embroider and knit as a preschooler, Theresa continues her love of the needlearts as a member of SAGA and is currently enrolled in the Artisan Program. Previous articles she has written for Sew Beautiful include “Quinn’s Cottontails”(March 2001 issue) and “Jack” (published online fall 2003) |
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