safe plan to mark a row or
two less, in case a change
should be decided upon before
the work is finished. Then
the material will not be disfigured by the marks. Soft,
loosely twisted embroidery
silk is used on silk or woolen
materials, and the best quality of French embroidery cotton on wash fabrics.
For the Simple Smocking, as illustrated in Fig. 98, take a thread and catch the material at the first dots of both the first and second rows; bring them together and catch the material securely at this point with two or three neatly made over-and-over stitches. Then, passing the thread under the material, bring the needle out at the third dot and do the same there. Continue down the row to the depth desired for the smocking.
In the second row of stitching, the alternate dots of the second and the corresponding dots of the third rows are caught together, always
but not so it will draw, and making the stitches as even in size as possible.