Picture Smocking Basics
Eight small picture plates: heart, tree, star, egg, pumpkin, sailboat, house and flower. Each picture is drawn on a bitmap of cable stitches between two border rows, so you can see exactly which pleat each stitch belongs to. The collection costs $19 once, with no subscription, and arrives as a ZIP with eight print ready PDFs, eight SVG charts and a short read me.
Sample from the collection
Plate 1, Heart Picture, drawn by the same engine that produces the files you download.
The eight plates
| # | Plate | Stitches | Pleats | Rows |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Heart Picture | cable, picture rows | 17 | 11 |
| 2 | Tree Picture | cable, picture rows | 17 | 11 |
| 3 | Star Picture | cable, picture rows | 17 | 10 |
| 4 | Easter Egg Picture | cable, picture rows | 17 | 11 |
| 5 | Pumpkin Picture | cable, picture rows | 17 | 10 |
| 6 | Sailboat Picture | cable, picture rows | 17 | 11 |
| 7 | House Picture | cable, picture rows | 17 | 10 |
| 8 | Flower Picture | cable, picture rows | 17 | 11 |
What each PDF contains
- Page 1: the plate in standard graph notation, with pleat numbers along the top, row numbers down the side and a one inch check square printed at exact size.
- Page 2: pleat counts and raw fabric widths for chest sizes 18 to 28 inches, a floss estimate per color and row by row instructions.
- An SVG of the same plate that you can enlarge, recolor or print at any size.
How the numbers are worked out
Pleats sit a quarter inch apart and pleater rows a quarter inch apart. The floss estimate adds the visible travel of each stitch, a quarter inch per bite, four inches of tail at each end and 15 percent for waste, then converts strands into 6 strand skeins of 8 meters. You can try the same calculation for free in the Plate Designer before you buy anything.
Free plates that match this collection
Good to know
- You may print the plates as often as you like for your own sewing and sell garments you make from them.
- Redistributing the files or selling the plates themselves is not allowed.
- Questions before buying? See the FAQ or the terms of sale.
Your ZIP is available for download as soon as Stripe confirms the card payment. One time payment, no subscription.
Read next
- Wave Sandwich: Wave Sandwich, a free intermediate smocking plate: 35 pleats, 5 rows, floss estimate and row by row instructions.
- Wave Stripe: Wave Stripe, a free beginner smocking plate: 29 pleats, 4 rows, floss estimate and row by row instructions.
- About Smocking Plates Studio: Smocking Plates Studio designs printable smocking plates with one calculation engine behind the free Plate Designer, the free plates and the paid collections.