Beginning the Sampler

To begin my sampler, my mentor demonstrated how to pleat fabric with a pleating machine. We ironed the white fabric and placed the edge of the fabric into the machine. The machine has sixteen needles with black thread attached to them. When the fabric passes through the hand-cranked machine, the needles catch the fabric and create the pleats. Once the fabric was pleated, we blocked the fabric by steaming it. Blocking ensures that the pleats are permanent. My mentor then began to teach me the basic stitches of smocking.