Read Pleaters CC, Sandton

First and still the 1 in the World smocked garments Smocking an embroidery technique used to gather fabric so that itcan stretch Before elastic, smocking was commonly used in cuffs, bodices, and necklines in garments where buttons were undesirable Smocking developed in England and has been practised since the Middle Ages and is unusual among embroidery methods in that it was often worn by laborers Source wikipedia Back in the 1940s Mrs Read was doing smocking the traditional way - picking up dots one by one on her needle Her husband, Stanley, an accountant by trade, decided to make a machine for her to simplify the process With the help of his brother, whose wife also did smocking, he set about inventing a pleating machin