Smocking intrigued me so I decided to try and make a fully smocked bag. A few months ago I was playing around with different techniques and I did a small swatch of the standard smocking. I loved how it looked and knew I wanted to try and create a full project with this technique.
I asked for suggestions on my Instagram of what to make exactly, and one suggestion stood out to me. Instantly because I could already envision the final project. The comment was “a bag which grows depending upon how much you put into it”. From this suggestion, I created a moodboard with a little sketch of the final design. Truthfully, I had no idea of what to do for the straps and knew I would figure that out later. The most important thing was getting started on the smocking because I knew it would take hours.
The first step of smocking is creating the grid on your fabric. I drew a 1/2’” by 1/2” grid with tailor’s chalk and afterwards ran a running stitch through every intersection. I made sure to use white thread so it was noticeable in the coming steps. Once the running stitches were complete (this took me 1.5 hours), I pulled all the threads to gather the fabric and start the looooooong process of smocking.
Now smocking has so many different pattern options and it can get really creative. I wanted to keep things simple for myself so I decided to do the honeycomb method. Stitching pairs of pleated fabric along the grid. All hand stitched one by one. I stitched in the studio, on the train, watching a movie on the couch, any free time I had because I was determined to get it done within one week.
Eventually I finished the smocking, sewed up the sides, and did a double rolled hemmed along the top. Once the bag was complete it was easy to envision the right handle for the bag. I went with a simple 3/4” wide strap that fits over the wrist. This felt the most proportional to the bag. With the bag now complete, I felt it was still missing a special little something.
I took a little trip to the bead store and found these amazing pearl drop beads and knew they were just the right tough for the bag. The hole ran through the bead from top to bottom but I wanted them to be attached to the bag only by the top of the bead. So, I bought some short gold bars, put them through the beads, and with small jewelry pliers I bent the bars to create little ‘hooks’. This allowed me to hook each bead, one by one, onto the smocking stitches around the bag. Safe to say my idea worked! With a little squeeze from the pliers after to secure them onto the bag, it was now complete.
This bag took me 12.5 hours in total to create and I absolutely love how it turned out. I have a much deeper appreciation for smocking every time I see it now and now understand why we see it more in luxury items rather than everyday clothing. It's a true artform.
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