Origami and Smocking
Smocking is an embroidery technique where fabric is bunched together with stitches. The stitches are often made in a grid pattern which causes the fabric to buckle in a organized and pleasing manner. Smocking is often done with soft fabrics such as silk or cotton. Smocking was most popular in the 18th and 19th century but today, you can still find dresses and pillow with smocking detailing.
[Photo: Portrait of a Young Man by Ambrosius Holbein 1518]


In the case of origami tessellations, you can place the folded paper in front of a light source and the underlying layers become visible – that being a part of the art work. In smocking, the “wrong side” of the fabric is not intended for viewing.
Similarity in Origami and Smocking
Shown on the right is Ilan Garibi’s “Brick” origami tessellation folded by Beth Johnson. You can learn how to fold the model with the help of Sara Adams’ video.
Notice how the origami tessellation above is similar to the traditional Canadian Smocking shown below (from 1001 Fashion Trends).
Compare the crease pattern of the origami tessellation with the stitch pattern of the smocking: this demonstrates the huge difference between the two methodologies despite the fact that they produce visually similar results. [Photo from bethjohnsonorigami.com]


– books about smocking
– more about origami tessellations
– more about fabric folding

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Books with Easy Origami
- Easy Origami: over 30 simple projects by John Montroll
- Origami Fun Kit for Beginners by John Montroll
- My First Origami Kit by Joel Stern
- Easy Origami: A Step-by-Step Guide for Kids by C Alexander & M Meinking
- Fun With Easy Origami (Dover Origami Papercraft)
- Origami: A Step-by-Step Introduction to the Art of Paper Folding by T Cook & S Henry
- Easy Origami For Kids Book Traditional Japanese Folding Papers Overs 20 Projects by J Wish
- Easy Origami for Kids: Over 40 Simple Origami Projects by O Brooks
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More Origami Diagrams and Instructions…
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These free origami instructions are made available to you by the paper folding community at large. If you have a diagram you would like to share, or if your diagram is listed here and you wish to have it removed, please Contact Us. Diagrams are intended for personal use. Copyright of the models lie with the origami creators and designers. Please contact the designer and/or creator directly for non-private usage of a model and/or artwork.