How to Make a Smocked T-shirt

What you will need...

iron on mesh stabilizer (any stabilizer will work, but I love using mesh on t-shirts)

ruler

pens

fabric marking pen

scissors

t-shirt

smocked insert

cording

and of course your sewing machine

First you are going to iron on a mess stabilizer to the inside of your t-shirt.  This will make the t-shirt easier to work with and hold it's shape while you are sewing.

Also iron the stabilizer to the back of the smocked insert. (I don't have a picture of this sorry)

Now decide how much of your insert you would like to use in the t-shirt.

If it help you can draw a box, using a fabric marking pen to mark where you are going to attach your cording.

Next we are going to make your cording to go around your insert.

Measure the 2 lengths and 2 widths of your smocked insert... Add these measurements together to get the  length of cording needed.  Mine was 18 inches total in length

You will want the width to be around 2 inches.  We will trim excess off later.

The measurement will vary for all, depending on the size of your smocked design.

Cut on the bias (or diagonally on the material) the length you determined (18 inches for me).

Now you are going to sew your cording, using your zipper foot.  Look at my machine if you don't know what I am talking about.

Fold the fabric around the cording and sew close to the cord, creating a casing around it.

Continue Sewing until you have created cording long enough to go around your insert.

Now we will trim the cording case to be about 1/4 inch from stitching.

And clip the cording so that it will bend easily at the corners.

Now we will begin attaching the cording to the smocked insert.

I begin in the upper right hand corner, but this your personal choice.

Sew your cording along the marked line that you made earlier.

Continue sewing and when you get to a corner...

Leave your needle down and lift your presser foot, turn the fabric and cording.

Now put your presser foot back down and continue sewing.

Repeat this at all corners, until you have sewing the cording along the edges of your insert.

Trim excess off of the smocked insert.

Your results should look something like this.

Now we need to mark the t-shirt.

Measure your smocked insert design from corner of the cording.

You are going to need this measurement to draw the box cut-out on your t-shirt.

My measurement was 5.25 x 2.75.

You will want to draw a box on your t-shirt to be the size of the box of your cording.

I drew a box or marked the corners according to my measurements (5.25''x2.75'')

After drawing this box, connect the corner, creating an "X" in the middle of the box.

We are going to cut an "X" in the center of the box on the t-shirt.

Only cut along the "X" marked in the center of the shirt!!!  

DO NOT CUT OUTTER EDGES OF THE BOX!

Fold under along the outer box lines to make the square opening and iron to create fold.

And then pin the t-shirt to the smocked insert.  

You can experiment and figure out what works best for you.  I first pinned it and then afterwards found it easier to just fold as I sewed.

After pinning, begin to sew (top stitch) with your zipper foot at one of the corners.

Make sure that you are catching the t-shirt as you sew!

Continue to sew around the insert... 

When you get to a corner leave your needle in the down position, lift your pressure foot and turn the t-shirt/insert.  

Top stitch all the way around the insert.

When you are finished it should look something like this...