Procedute of doing Smocking Stitch embroidery

In this technique of embroidery it is essential to gathering threads which lay the pleats perfectly straight, and to regulate the distance of the stitches one from the other accurately. The whole beauty of the work depends upon the evenness of the gathering. One can buy a sheet of impression paper with dots to indicate the distance between the stitches and the gathering threads but with patience one can manage very well with a tape measure, using a pencil on white cloth, or chalk on silk and woolen fabrics. The most difficult thing while doing the Smocking stitch embroidery is how to start it or in other word how to knot the first stitch and the solution to that to hold your needle parallel.