Pleats tutorial

Hi all
What a rainy weekend it has turned out to be!  I have spent much of my time at work so am hoping it will rain itself out as I head towards some much needed time off!  Though I would take some time this morning to blog my tutorial on pleats.

I love pleats - they are cute and look gorgeous when done right.  I love the shape they add to clothes and as you saw in my last post I've started to use them in bags as well.  They can be adapted to any style you like and any shape or size so for me it is a must in your stash of sewing skills.

So what will you need - your fabric of choice, dress pins, a tape measure, tailors chalk, iron and a needle/sewing machine and thread.

1.  You need to measure the length of your fabric and decide how big your pleats will be.  I chose 2cm pleats to be every 4cms.  This means that in total I will need 10cm per pleat because the fold uses 3x2cm of fabric.  To work this out for your pleats take the size you chose for your pleat, times it by 3 and then add this figure to the gap you want between pleats.  I marked this out along the top of the fabric using pen so you can see it but you will want to use tailors chalk that won't mark or run ink over your fabric.

So I have marked 0cm then 4cm then 8cm then 10cm.  Then I repeat this again until I reach the end of the fabric.

2. You now want to start folding the fabric to create the pleats.  You want to take the 8cm marking and bring it over the the 4cm marking

This should mean that the 10 cm marking sits just on the fold leaving you with a neat 2cm pleat.  Pin this with the pin pointing up towards the edge of your fabric.  Then you repeat the step taking the 8cm back to the 4cm and pinning until you reach the end of your fabric. You should be left with something a little like this.

As you can see it creates a nice curve to the fabric which is why pleating is often used for skirts - it perfectly sets up the waist band.

3. Now you want to press this out.  This is a really important step if you want your pleats to sit nicely.  The fabric should naturally show you how long the pleats fall - if you want a full pleat all the way to the bottom of your fabric you need to ensure you measure the pleats all the way down otherwise they will loose some of their shape.

4. Finally you run a straight stitch along the top of the fabric and remove your pins.  While you are sewing check that the pleats aren't folding up under your machine foot (if your using a machine) and adjust as you got to ensure they are going through the machine perfectly flat.

Now you add this to your skirt or bag or whatever it is that you are using it for.  This is a skirt that I made a year of so ago out of round table cloth.  I used pleats to bring it in to fit me at the waist and it gives the skirt such  a full feel - perfect for twirling I have to say :)

If you decide you want to do box pleats you follow the same idea except you turn the folds round.  SO the first fold you would bring the 8cm to the 4cm mark.  Then you would swap and bring the 4cm to the 8cm and continue alternating to create a boxed look on your product.

Have fun experimenting and as always give me a post of anything you produce!

This week it's all about the bags

Well I've been back at the machine again - I think it was cross about being neglected for all those days last week as today it played up like crazy.  Broken needles, broken threads, light bulbs going but I took a break for lunch and all seemed to return to normal.  I have come to the conclusion that machinery objects to me being hungry and I must remember to squirrel snacks up into the attic with me when I start a sewing session.
 I've been making bags this week and have been experimenting with creating different shapes.  I've got a bit bored of making rectangle tote bags so thought I'd try a few new things.  Or new to me anyway.
 The first one was pretty simple but I just love the blue of the fabric and the flowers and felt it fitted a rectangular shape so I went with it.

The second one is probably my favourite - I made it from fabric that my sister found for me a few years ago.  I really love it which is probably why I haven't had the heart to cut it up till now.  I'm happy I did though - believe it or not this is from a duvet cover!  Upcycling at its best! A few pleats really made the difference with this one making it look much more complicated than it actually was to make.

The final bag so far is from a fabric that you would have seen plenty of already.  That fabulous vintage floral fabric I got from Sue Ryder a month or so ago.  I have nearly used it all up so this is likely to be the last you see of it!  I've done really well with it making mini stockings, a skirt, an apron and this bag as well as a few little purses and hanging hearts.  

I really like using pleats in bags as they add so much extra shape to it as well as the extra space.  Pleating is really simple to do you just need to be prepared to take a bit of time to measure each fold.  I will do a tutorial on how to pleat over the weekend so watch this space.

And for the last photo here is a sneak preview of a piece I'm preparing for a winter wonderland showcase that I'm involved in on Facebook in November.  I've been digging out all my blue, grey and silver fabrics for the winter theme and what better way to use all those odds and ends than a bit of patchwork!  Any ideas what it will be in the end?

I hope you are all having a fabulous week - don't forget to share your pics of the things you've been making - you never know you might get a share in the blog.  Thanks for reading.

x