Smocking is an embroidery technique of controlling a series of tiny parallel fabric pleats with intricate embroidery stitches. Fabric can be gathered using a pleating machine, or gathered by hand connecting a series of tiny dots with needle and thread. Smocking is a beautiful embroidery technique for children and women's garments.

Shadow work embroidery is an embellishing technique used on sheer weight fabrics. Elaborate floral or character designs are drawn in pencil on the fabric and the embroidery thread is carried on the underside of the design with a series of crossed or herringbone stitches, which create an appearance of a "shaded" thread color effect from the front.