A-Z of Smocking

This is a beautifully illustrated book with probably all of the information one would need to do a variety of smocked pieces. I won a Pullen pleater for a nice low bid on eBay because it came with no directions. This book more than compensated for that, although the pleater is easy to use. The book supplied so much more information that the directions available on YouTube. I highly recommend this book for a beginner as well as someone who may be more experienced.

One of the best, if not the best books covering the art of smocking. If you have a question about how to do, or one of the stitches you have not done recently, this book gives beautiful detail in full color photographs with step by step written descriptions. A must for any serious smocker. This is the latest edition with a flexible cover with a great binding.

The digital format doesn't output the pages in full. You have to rotate device no matter what. It's just hard to navigate. I'll probably end up getting a used hard copy somewhere.

Came really damp wet. Pages were damp with water stains. The book was warped looking. It smelled like Lysol -the concentrated- in the dark bottle. Sending it back

I should have realized this was an alphabet book for grown-ups from the title. The instructions are clear where they are given, but much of the book is devoted to what smocking IS rather than how to do it.

Purchased as gift for sister-in-law...new to smocking. She loved the book and took it to class for show ands tell with more experienced smockers….they were highly impressed with book. Winner!!!

This book offered more than I needed to know about more aspects of smocking than I ever knew existed. The directions are easy to follow. I've used this book extensively.I only have two frustrations: 1- The alphabetical organization splits up categories like basic stitches, and finding a stitch I want depends on remembering what this particular book happens to call it. I sometimes spend too much time wandering around looking. 2- The garment designs are all referenced to back issues of an expensive Australian smocking magazine which are in many cases not even available on e-bay. This makes duplicating a clothing design very difficult, but I suppose it opens up a lot of room for creativity.

Great product, good price, prompt delivery. My wife really is enjoying this book.

Beginners beware, this book is no use to you. The title A-Z gives the impression a beginner will be taken through the process and, by the end, know how to smock a little dress for a child. Instead it simply means that the subjects are arranged alphabetically, so that something you need to know about at the start, for example,preparation, is found under P instead at at the beginning of the book. The author assumes that you will buy or own a pleater, cost £300 - whereas iron-on smocking dots, cost £3.50, are barely discussed. There are pictures throughout of little moppets in their smocked clothes shows their sweet smiles, but not the stitches they are supposed to be illustrating. And that is typical of this misconceived book. For the accomplished professional smocker, the owner of a pleating machine, it could be useful, many stiches are shown, but it's a completely useless book for my purposes. Can anyone suggest a book that might actually help?

The A-Z of Smocking is one in a series of needlework books from the Inspirations magazine team. It is copiously illustrated in colour and shows all the main smocking stitches. There are fetching photographs of children in smocked garments. The book is a good size and format for the work table but it does not lay flat, of course.Some of the stitches shown (Vandyke stitch, feather stitch) are subtly different from, but not an improvement of, the stitch versions found in instructions from 1900. There is something a bit facile in the feel of the book and for me the layout is a bit of a graphic artist's exercise.The book (softback) has a card dustjacket that does not have retaining flaps to keep it on the book proper. It is a laminated card printed to duplicate the book cover and folded to fit the book spine. The card is the same width as the book cover and falls off when you pick up the book. Or worse, the book slips out of the cover and biffs its corner on the floor. I cannot see the purpose of the cover and it has irritated me no end. This is why I have discarded it and have deducted one star.

I am so pleased I bought this book. It's easy to follow with lots of great photos showing how to do things. I've made my first smocked garment thanks to this book - well, I'd had a go before but nothing like I've now achieved. I would recommend this book to anyone starting out with smocking. And it's such fun. I had no idea, for example, that we should do backing smocking to stabilise the pleats. That is SUCH good information. So much easier once that's been done. And lots of other good suggestions too. Thank you so much.

This is a wonderful book. It really helped me indivualise a dress I made for one of my great grand daughters and I am sure it will help again many times.

I love this book as it is easy to read. Smoking is such a ancient thread technique that I had to get it and hope to learn to do smoking one day. Excellent book.