How To Smock on gingham

Stephanie Hung of The Crafts Dept. (MarthaStewart.com) suggests smocking on gingham for beginners. She says,

The squares in the gingham pattern act as sewing guides so you can make perfectly spaced stitches.  As the thread makes knots in the front, it floats between the squares in the back of the fabric.

See more, and get a free template and instructions, at Stephanie’s post.

What kinds of smocking exist?
Traditional English smocking, in which the cloth is marked with dots before being gathered into pleats with the dots as guidelines. The pleats are then maintained in place by embroidering on top before the gathering threads are removed.
North American smocking, in which the stitch pattern is used to control the fabric as it is pulled up rather than gathering.
Radial smocking is the process of drawing up a piece of fabric in the shape of a ring doughnut.
Smocking in North America in which the stitch pattern is used to manipulate the fabric as it is pulled up rather than gathering.
Smocking is popular in Italy. This is distinct in that the stitches connect the dots rather than creating a little thread at each.