Smocking is an embroidery technique used to gather fabric so that it can stretch. Before elastic, smocking was commonly used in cuffs, bodices, and necklines in garments where buttons were undesirable. Smocking was developed in England, has been practiced since the Middle Ages, and is unusual among embroidery methods in that it was often worn by laborers.
The technique and definition of smocking is wide-ranging and loosely defined. Annie Coggan has been experimenting with multiple smocking techniques for the last ten years and has gathered various techniques into a stitching logic that she refers to as Modernist Smocking.
The series will include Coggan’s insights on the history of this technique as well as hands-on examinations of diverse smocking techniques and modernist experiments in the world of three-dimensional embroidery. In this workshop Annie will again discuss the logic and cultural constructs of smocking and impart other smocking techniques that will further your textile practice.
Level: This series promises a journey through creativity and fabric manipulation for all level stitchers. We recommend that students who have never practiced smocking before, begin at level I to learn the foundations. Students who have previously taken Smocking level I or II with TATTER or Annie Coggan will be prepared to dive into Level III.
**All classes of this series will be recorded. The recordings will be available for one month following the last live session. A link to the recording will be emailed to all registrants following the live session.
The Series
Session I: Introduction to Smocking
Annie will acquaint students with the history of smocking and discuss the logic and cultural constructs of the technique. Students will come away with an understanding of the foundational grid from which many variations of smocked fabric manipulation arise.
Saturday, July 12th, 2025
10 – 12:30 pm ET
Session II: Intermediate Smocking
Interested in exploring more ways to manipulate fabric? Join us for session two, in which Annie will introduce smocking variants that speak to her continuing artistic exploration of the physical changes that textiles can undergo with deep stitching, and the performative potential of a smocked surface at an architectural scale.
Saturday, July 19th, 2025
10 – 12:30 pm ET
Session III: Floral Smocking
In this session, students will have a first hand experience with Annie’s most recent exploration into floral smocking and its interaction with embroidery techniques. This session will offer opportunity for comparing and contrasting the techniques imparted in the series and their application at various scales.
Saturday, July 26th, 2025
10 – 12:30 pm ET
Dates
Saturdays, July 12th, 19th, and 26th, 2025
Time
10pm – 12:30 pm ET
Location
Zoom, a link will be sent to participants the day before class.
If you cannot attend the live sessions, the recordings will be available to you for one month after the last live session.
Cost
$75 for each class. $200 for the full series.
Class Materials
- 1 Piece of woven fabric for each workshop session. At least 22” x 32” (a pillowcase or the back of a dress shirt would also work well)
- Thread. Annie uses DMC pearl cotton, but any embroidery thread or any strong sewing thread works.
- Sharp sewing or embroidery needle
- Fabric marker
- Scissors
- Ruler
Prep Work
Before each class, please draw a grid of two inch squares onto your 22” x 32” fabric using your fabric marker and your ruler. Instructions will be included in the workshop welcome email. Reference image to right.
OUR TEACHER
Annie Coggan, Designer and Architect
Principal at Chairs + Buildings Studio, Coggan received her Bachelor of Arts from Bennington College in Vermont and her Master of Architecture from the Southern California Institute of Architecture (SCI-Arc), Los Angeles CA.
Coggan’s practice is based in visual scholarship focusing on fabricating furniture as a mechanism for storytelling and experimental textiles as soft construction within a historical context.
She is an Associate Professor at Pratt Institute School of Design. She exhibits regularly with Russell Janis Gallery and has shown at A D/B Project Space (Brooklyn), Gestarc Gallery (Brooklyn), Barbara Toll Fine Arts (Manhattan), the Textile Arts Center (Brooklyn), Mississippi State CAAD Visual Arts Center, Hartford School of Art and Jackson State University.