Smocked Panel Details.

Our Clients are amazing. Especially the ones that let us smock for them! Smocking is complex mathematically and a challenge to execute well.  We spent hours planning these panels, sampling, stitching etc. Once we had a system down we set to sewing them. Anna , the human needle, aka as the (second) best ( ... ahem) sewer in the western hemisphere set about to handsewing these panels with zest! We introduced quartz, that's right quartz beading at every stitch, to highlight the pleating and give the panels a super duper luxe look.

In the diagram below you can see the initial stages of the smocking. Tiny pleats are taken in the fabric, and then sewn together at predetermined intervals to create the smocked look.

Below you can see the finished detail of the smocking. And a view of the back as well. Just imagine how many thousands of little stitches made this up... it was labour intensive and excruciating... for Anna.

To top it all off we hand sewed trim to the leading edges and bottom hems of all the panels (5 in total).

Final shot of the quartz beads, amazing look. 

I will post finished pictures in the upcoming weeks. What makes these panels so special is the amount of time and thought that went into them. Sewing on this level is really an art form, it is truly a time honoured technique which is disappearing  more everyday. Its sad, but we try to do our part to preserve these ideas and techniques when we can but it is also about the appreciation for fine things and hand crafted custom work. The biggest tragedy is that most of the people who specify soft furnishings (aka designers, decorators... et al) in this day and age have no idea what the possibilities are nor are they predisposed with exceptional taste in soft furnishing... so sadly their clients are condemned to living in homes with little or no flair and almost no attention to quality. We see this increasingly and it is worrisome. But at least our clients needn't worry... :)