The Super Amanda Smocking Pleater -  imitated but never surpassed for quality & reliability
HANDY HINTS FOR USING THE SUPER AMANDA SMOCKING PLEATER
Here is a cutaway image of the Super Amanda showing the 'path' of the pleater needle through the rollers.
When removing or replacing needles, we suggest you tilt your Super Amanda back by resting the front of the base plate on a suitable object such as a small wooden block. This prevents the pleater needles from falling out of the machine once you remove the top roller.
For the majority of pleating, only every second needle is required when using the Super Amanda smocking pleater.
For specialised work where fabric tends to bubble, use needles in all the spaces provided, but only to the width of the pleating being done.
The easiest way to handle your fabric is to use a dowel. An old broom handle cut down to size is an excellent tool for this.
Place the dowel with the rolled up fabric into the pleater as shown and carefully feed the fabric into the rollers while turning the knob 'clockwise'.

Turning the knob the wrong way will result in damage to your pleater.
And here is the finished result. Note that most pleating tends to be done on the left side of the machine.
Should what we have provided here not be sufficient for you, we recommend 'The Pleater Manual' by Sarah Douglas, as an invaluable source of knowledge for the avid smocking enthusiast.

Click here to search Google for where to find this excellent publication.