Tuesday, November 26, 2013

Picture Smocking part 5

Now the fun part. Lets stack our cable rows! :-)


(if you need to see any of the pictures up close just click on them)

We are going to work upwards completing the Gingerbread Girls's head.



When we stitch the second row, each cable is going to match up with a cable from the previous row.   Think of it like an online dating service…."Everyone has a match"




 


If you need more visual help, dig out a set of Lego's and practice stacking.


Besides stacking our next cable row we are also going to decrease the row. The row above is going to be smaller the the row before.



The next row, according to our designs, is 11 cable stitches and starts again with a Down Cable.


Bring the needle and floss down in the valley of the last pleat. We are going to do the same steps we did when we started with the very first stitch.  Bring the needle and floss up in the center valley of where we want our next cable to be.









Notice something different?  Look at the hint of the green border….we have turned our insert over.

Now, repeating what we did on our very first cable we are bringing our needle and floss through the pleat on the left so we are in position to stitch our second cable row.








After we have stitched our 11 cable stitches we are going to again slant the last stitch. 








Congratulations! We have stacked a cable row.  I've turned the insert back right side up (notice the green border?)

Now, check your work to make sure everything is correct. I have noticed that my floss is beginning to show some wear. I can get the next row smocked but I am going to have to change threads after that.










On our next row, we are going to be decreasing in the number of cable stitches again but we are going to start with an Up Cable.    Bring the needle and the floss down in the valley of our last pleat so we are ready for the next row.


Each cable row is about 1/8" wide. When I bring my needle and floss up I don't want to be exactly next to the previous row. Just eyeballing it, my needle and floss are coming up about 1/16" or half the width of my cable row.











As we have done before, the needle and floss are going through the pleat on the left. We are now lined up to start on next cable row.










We are stitching 7 cable stitches, starting with an Up Stitch. Notice the distance of this first cable compared to the row below.






Now when we take our second cable stitch, which is a Down cable stitch, everything is lining up perfect. If the row is not lining up, take the stitches out and reposition them.  Remember to keep a consistent  stitch depth.









I have finished my last stitch on the row and have slanted my last stitch as we have done before. My floss is showing wear so it is time to tie off and start with new floss.

To tie off, we bring the needle and floss to the back.








Take a tiny stitch in the back of a pleat.




Go through the loop.





Then go through the second loop and tug gently to form the knot. I leave about a 1/2 inch tail.




To be continued……….. Up next, Increasing our cable row!

2 comments:

  1. We now have a Guild in Desoto Co. Ms.
    A lovely lady will be teaching picture smocking in January.
    Wish we had this printed for each of our ladies.
    Your work is Awesome.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Pam, Not a problem making copies of this plate for your guild. Who is teaching your class?

    ReplyDelete