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9 Smocking - A Magnificent Endeavour Shikha Bajaj and Harminder Kaur Saini The art of adornment on fabric pieces been always been a matter of interest for the craft lovers and designers. For centuries, arts and crafts have been distinguished for their great aesthetic and functional value 1 . In the present world of fashion, demand of variety and new interesting creations are cherished more than anything. This present attempt entitled, ‘Smocking - A magnificent endeavour’ was aimed at designing and shaping of merchandise with pleasing exotic concepts. The study was carried out in Ludhiana city. A total of ten utility articles namely cushion cover, pillow cover, bolster cover, trimming for bedsheet, curtain canopy, lampshade, handbag, jewellery box, folder and footwear were prepared by using various smocking techniques and designs. Two designs for each article were sketched on corelDRAW X3 and after evaluation by a panel of judges, one design of each article, was selected for development of the article. Selected designs were then developed by using suitable fabrics and embellishments. [ Keywords : Smocking, Utility, Design, Judges, Articles] 1. Introduction Embroidery can be a wonderfully meditative practice. It is a creative way to play with color, shape, line and texture and adorn the simple pieces of fabric. Creative and innovative thoughts of mind can bring up numerous ideas of embellishment and adding value to the merchandise. Smocking is one of the magnificent and elegant arts of ornamentation which carries its roots in England, but over the years, it has found its worthy place in many parts of the world. It is an art form which has been handed down from generation to generation much CONTEMPORARY SOCIAL SCIENCES, Vol. 24, Number 3 July-September, 2015 Research Scholar, Department of Apparel and Textile Science, College of Home Science, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana-141004, Punjab India E-mail: shikhabajaj26gmail.com Professor, Department of Apparel and Textile Science, College of Home-Science, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, Punjab India E-mail: harminderctpau.edu