Heart Picture
Heart Picture is a beginner smocking plate charted on 17 pleats and 11 worked rows. The simplest picture plate: a heart in coral cable stitches inside rose borders. It uses cable and picture rows, stitched in coral and rose.
The plate at a glance
| Level | Beginner |
| Pleats charted | 17 |
| Worked rows | 11 |
| Pleater setup | 13 pleater rows (11 worked plus one holding row above and below) |
| Mirrored | no |
| Pleated width | 4.25 in at 0.25 in per pleat |
| Raw fabric width at 3:1 | 12.75 in |
| Colors | 2: coral and rose |
| Thread in all | 3.91 yd |
Row by row
Rows 1 to 11 read top down, pleats 1 to 17 from the left.
| Rows | Stitch | Color | Pleats | Bites |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cable | Rose | 1 to 17 | 17 |
| 2 | Picture row 1: Heart | Coral | 6 to 7 | 2 |
| 2 | Picture row 1: Heart | Coral | 11 to 12 | 2 |
| 3 | Picture row 2: Heart | Coral | 5 to 8 | 4 |
| 3 | Picture row 2: Heart | Coral | 10 to 13 | 4 |
| 4 | Picture row 3: Heart | Coral | 4 to 14 | 11 |
| 5 | Picture row 4: Heart | Coral | 4 to 14 | 11 |
| 6 | Picture row 5: Heart | Coral | 5 to 13 | 9 |
| 7 | Picture row 6: Heart | Coral | 6 to 12 | 7 |
| 8 | Picture row 7: Heart | Coral | 7 to 11 | 5 |
| 9 | Picture row 8: Heart | Coral | 8 to 10 | 3 |
| 11 | Cable | Rose | 1 to 17 | 17 |
The needle movement for Cable and Picture rows (cable) is described in the glossary.
Floss for this plate
| Color | Thread (yd) | Skeins needed | Skeins to buy |
|---|---|---|---|
| Coral | 2.99 | 0.2 | 1 |
| Rose | 0.92 | 0.06 | 1 |
Coral carries 76 percent of the thread; estimate for 3 strands, formula in the floss guide.
Pleats by chest size
The plate is not mirrored: the 17 pleats read from the left edge. The chart's 17 pleats cover 4.25 in; a front panel for an 18 in chest pleats to 40 pleats (30 in of fabric), one for a 28 in chest to 60 pleats (45 in); the full table by chest size is in how the sizing works.
Compared with the other free plates
- Same 17 pleats as Easter Egg Picture.
- Picture rows also appears in Easter Egg Picture.
- With 11 worked rows it ties for the longest free plate; 13 are shorter.
- It belongs with Picture Smocking Basics, eight plates on 17 pleats; the closest to this plate are Twin Hearts Picture and Tree Picture.
Print at 100 percent and check the inch square. See also how to read a plate and using a pleater.