Im-Perfect Pleater

I am working on a three piece 1880s walking dress ensemble.  More about that to come later!

However, I needed an easy way to pleat 300 inches of fabric for the pleated bottom edge of the skirt.  I am NOT spending money on a pleater. So I started looking up how to make a homemade pleater board. I found instructions here.

 

 

Following the instructions I started by measuring and scoring one inch increments. Then I had to fold back and forth to make the pleats.

 

 

Then I cut a file folder into one inch strips and tucked one inside each pleat, on the back side.

 

Then I covered the entire back with duct tape. That seals the folder strips inside and fortifies the strength of the entire pleater.

 

Here I am using it with 100% cotton fabric. Looks pretty good.  You can then press directly on the pleater.

 

I did not find the whole thing very effective.  Problems occurred when the fabric would not stay neatly in each pleat fold.  I found my pleats varying in size and not straight, top to bottom.  So I reverted to the old fashioned way of measuring, folding, pinning, and then pressing the pleats.  Oh well, I tried.

 

I have finished the skirt of my ensemble and will post pictures of that in the next few days.

 

Thanks for looking.

Jeannine