So, you have volunteered to judge the smocking at the County Fair? Here are a few tips to help you have a successful day reviewing the entries.
If a garment is entered in the SEWING Department, give more weight to the SEWING rather than the smocking. Conversely, if the garment is entered in the Hand Embroidery Department, focus on the handwork.
*Each Fair has its own set of Rules and Regulations.
Preview the fair book ahead of time. Judge each Fair according to it’s own requirements.
Place judging compares pieces against each other.
Merit judging evaluates each piece on its own qualities.
County Fairs usually judge with a combination of the two styles.
Interview judging considers the item and the person who is presenting it.
*Arrive early to get settled. Take a few minutes to look at all the entries ahead of time. This gives you a feel for this fair. Each fair has it’s own characteristics. Judge each fair by its own standards.
Chat with your assistants, they are volunteers too. Often the assistants are wanting to learn something from your evaluations. If they ask questions, answer them thoughtfully. You never know if the volunteer has entered the piece.
*Judge with a partner. Each judge is EQUAL unless otherwise stated. Defer disagreements to the Department Head.
If two items appear equally judged, give the higher award to the more difficult project.
*NO PERSONAL BIAS! Keep your opinions to yourself.
If you recognize the maker, quietly allow the other judges to make the decision.
*Be creative, yet brief with comments. Be genuine. Always say something positive. Entrants use our comments as a learning tool.
General Appearance: Take an overall view. The garment should be clean and pressed. It should hang evenly. The colors should be complementary. The fabric, fibers and trims should be consistent.
* while the more worldly smocker will use fine cottons and silks, the standard at this fair may be different. Judge according to the standards of this year’s entries.
Materials: Is the fabric suitable for the style and function of the garment? Are the trims appropriate to the use?
*look for smaller piping. The standard in smocking is to use custom made piping that is smaller than packaged goods.
*silk dupioni is wonderful for a Christening ensemble, however a play suit in silk is not functional.
*does the trim size suit the scale of the garment? Lace is nice, but using 3 inch wide lace when a half inch would be better, does not make a better garment.
*thread should match the weight of the components
Workmanship: Correct stitch length and tension to suit the materials.
*Piping should be smooth, not rippled, with ends sewn neatly into the seams.
*When lace is attached to the garment, a tiny, barely visible seam is the standard.
*COLLARS! Look at the collar’s placement. Check that each side of a peter pan collar is even. Collars should just meet at center front. If there is trim on the collar, the trim should just meet. On the back, the collars should end at the center back line.
Seams: Straight, well pressed seams. Intersecting seams are matched.
One quarter inch seams (1/4”) are the standard for heirloom sewing and smocking.
* heirloom and smocking seams are always finished. Look for a French seam, overcast seam by the serger or sewing machine, or covered seam with a bias band or similar product.
*exposed bias bands at the sleeve or neck should be small, tight and smooth.
Fastenings: Does the closure suit the garment?
Zippers, if used should be inserted according to general sewing standards.
Buttons and buttonholes should be to the scale of the garment design and size.
Button holes should be spaced properly horizontally or vertically.
*Buttons and buttonholes are the preferred method of closing smocked and heirloom garments.
*The quality of the button should be consistent with the garment.
*Beauty Pins These are to be reserved for the formal garments such as Christening wear. HOWEVER! You are judging SEWING and sewn button holes should be given higher credit than beauty pins.
*small nylon snaps are acceptable for hidden closures such as plackets. Snaps should be nylon, not metal. Check for even stitches. Make sure the seam lays flat.
Selvedges: are permitted as seam finishes IF they are on quality fabric that does not pucker after washing and IF they are narrow and free from print. Expect tiny clips through the very edge to limit curling.
Lace work: cotton laces are delicate and should be treated accordingly.
*Sewing lace to lace by butting the edges together is common in heirloom sewing. The seam should be narrow and fine, almost unnoticeable. The stitch should barely catch the heading of one lace with one swing of the zig and the other lace’s heading with the zag.
*Laces often do not match in design but should always match in quality and scale.
*ribbon woven through beading, lace with holes for that purpose, should be to scale and quality. The ribbon need not be finest silk ribbon, but it should be double faced satin.
*entredeux, when used, should be attached with a very fine seam that has been roll and whipped (tiny zigzag).
*lace may also be attached by hemstitching by hand or machine. Hemstitching should be flat and even.
Machine embroidery: is acceptable on heirloom garments. Make certain the scale of the design is appropriate.
*Is the thread used complementary?
*There should not be any puckering in the design or at the edges. Stabilizer should have been used. All stabilizer should have been removed from the design.
*Check for thread tension. No lower (bobbin) thread should be brought to the upper side.
Hem treatments: a deep hem is expected in a smocked garment. Deep is to scale. A 6 inch hem on a newborn dress is too much. However a 6” hem on a toddler dress is acceptable. The extra fabric weight helps the garment hang nicely.
Make sure the stitching is even and the hem is straight.
Smocking Stitches and embroidery:
Technique: are the stitches executed correctly? Is the fiber lying flat, untwisted and showing no signs of wear? The back should have small knots with short tails. Long carryovers that can be seen from the front or hinder flexibility in smocked pieces should be avoided, lower scores accordingly.
The design should be uniform and symmetrical. Do the waves end at the same design motif at side seams? Do designs appear continuous at the back seams
Are the top and bottom Rows of smocking equal distant from the seam lines?
Colors? Do the smocking colors compliment the fabric choices? Do the colors compliment each other within the design?
Scale? Is the scale of smocking complimentary to the item? Is it too big, too small?
Are the motifs within the smocking complimentary in scale to each other?
Smocking and heirloom sewing are alive and well in America! If you see such items at your Needle Arts Show or Fair, enjoy them! Know that the sewist put love and care into every stitch.
