Whether you intend to add smocking to a dress, then a blouse or a cushion, before it is possible to begin the project, you need to determine how much fabric you need. If you choose the size of this pleats you wish to smock to begin with, you can easily calculate how much fabric is necessary. Light cottons, silks or linen cloths work best for smocking — heaver cloths create a look that’s too bulky when smocked.

Assess the width of the item to be smocked. For example, if you mean to smock a blouse, then assess the width from armpit to armpit on the person that you’re making it for, and add on the seam allowance necessary for sewing on every side. If you plan to make a smocked throw pillow, determine the finished size of this pillow first, such as 20 inches round.

Figure the width of every pleat to arrive at the total inches necessary for each one. If you intend to make little 1/4-inch pleats, each pleat will expect a total of 1/2 inch of fabric — 1/4 inch for every side of the bend. When you understand the size of this pleat you would like to create, you can calculate the number of pleats it requires to create a compressed width of the inch of fabric. Light silks or lighter fabrics, for instance, need more pleats to the inch compared to heavier cottons or linens.

Calculate the number of pleats per inch to determine the number of pleats round the finished width of this stuff. A good way to practice this is to use cotton gingham fabric using 1/4-inch sized checks. In this instance, each pleat will use two checks or 2 1/4-inch squares on the gingham material per pleat, utilizing a total of 1/2 inch of fabric for every pleat. The fabric thickness affects the number of folded pleats it requires to create an inch when the pleats are compressed with them. Multiply the finished width of the garment by the number of pleats you can get into a inch. For instance, if the fabric you have generates 10 pleats per compressed inch of fabric — in a total of 5 inches, as every pleat equals 1/2 inch — you may need a total of 200 pleats for a 20-inch finished width.

Multiply the number of pleats per inch by the finished width of the fabric. For the finished 20-inch width using 10 pleats per inch using a total of 1/2 inch each pleat, you may need 100 inches of fabric. To ascertain the yardage, divide by 36 inches –the number of inches in 1 yard — to arrive in roughly 2 3/4 yards.