Surface Honeycomb Band

Surface Honeycomb Band is a advanced smocking plate charted on 36 pleats and 4 worked rows. Surface honeycomb is charted here as two crossing diagonal passes between two cable rows. It uses cable and surface honeycomb, stitched in blush, navy. Everything below comes from the same engine as the Plate Designer, so you can change the colors, stitches or chest size there and get a new chart.

The plate at a glance

Level	Advanced
Pleats charted	36
Worked rows	4
Pleater setup	6 pleater rows (4 worked plus one holding row above and below)
Pleated width	9 in at 0.25 in per pleat
Raw fabric width at 3:1	27 in

It is an advanced plate: rows share pleater lines or cross each other, so work slowly and check the graph after every pass.

Stitch by stitch

Work the rows from the top of the plate down. Each line gives the row number, the color, the pleats covered and the movement to use.

Row 1: Cable in Blush, pleats 1 to 36, 36 bites, 3 strands. Pick up each pleat on the row line and let the working thread fall alternately above and below the needle.
Rows 2 to 3: Surface honeycomb in Navy, pleats 1 to 36, 72 bites, 3 strands. Charted as two crossing diagonal passes between the same two rows, one pleat per bite.
Row 4: Cable in Blush, pleats 1 to 36, 36 bites, 3 strands. Pick up each pleat on the row line and let the working thread fall alternately above and below the needle.

Floss for this plate

Color	Thread (yd)	Skeins needed	Skeins to buy
Blush	1.47	0.1	1
Navy	1.63	0.11	1

The estimate assumes 3 strands, a quarter inch of thread per bite, four inches of tail at each end and 15 percent waste. The floss guide explains each number and how to scale it for 2, 4 or 6 strands.

Pleats by chest size

The chart above is one width. To smock the same plate on a garment, use the pleat count for the chest size in the table (front panel, 2 in of ease, 3:1 fabric ratio, 45 in fabric).

Chest (in)	Pleats	Raw fabric width (in)	Widths of 45 in fabric
18	40	30.0	1
20	44	33.0	1
22	48	36.0	1
24	52	39.0	1
26	56	42.0	1
28	60	45.0	2

Mirrored plates use an odd pleat count so a single pleat sits on the center line. Plates with honeycomb use an even count because honeycomb works pleats in pairs. Sizing by chest shows the full calculation.

Before you start

Print the plate at 100 percent and check the one inch square on the printed PDF from any collection.
Pleat a test strip first and stitch two rows to check your tension.
Read how to read a plate if the graph notation is new to you.