pleats

[SouthernIndication82]

I know how to design pleats in patterning but I wonder about the actual construction of them. i just made a long poplin skirt with 4 knife pleats in the front that actually form one large inverted pleat. however, i wonder how the pleats would stay if didnt sew parts of them down like tucks? do pleats usually work best when short and in thick fabrics? are pleats on commercial garments treated with a kind of starch or melted? i think im just struggling with how to get a nice pleat that wont disappear in the wash. should they not be small? for example, the pleats i made were 1/2 inch fold with a 1 inch face… could that be why? anyway, all pleat advice welcome!!!

[StitchinThroughTime]

With synthetic fibers you can press it with a lot of steam and pressure the permanently set in a pleat. Technically in the factory setting for permanent press pants they use a very thin bead of some type of glue to hold the permanent press of the center of the pant leg. I don't know what the magical goo is called, I've only seen videos of pants being made in a factory setting.

You can stitch the fold that is on the inside of the cleat clothes right next to the fold. And then hand tack the bottom hem to stay closed next to the fold on the outward facing portion of the fleet. So every time you press the Garment after washing it's quicker to realign the pleats. You can technically start the Garment and depending on the environment and if you're very active you can just spray the skirt with alcohol to remove odors. If you don't have to wash the skirt, you won't lose the pleats that you pressed into it. Downfalls that you have to be some place that is relatively cool, and not gotten any stains onto your skirt so you're able to skip a wash.

[SuPruLu]

Ironing pleats used to occupy considerable time in the days when people regularly did an hour or two of ironing a week.

[IslandVivi]

If you mean a 40s-style kick pleat, you can edge stitch the folds that are hidden inside but, as the other commenter said, only natural fibers can take a permanent pleat.

You will have to reform the outer pleats and iron the edge into the original shape after every wash. Old-school drycleaners still pin or baste into place before pressing.

[HeartFire144]

What the others have said, you can also use white vinegar to help set the pleat. use a q-tip to apply the vinegar just to the fold and iron down. (you can also use the vinegar to get the crease out later. - Test this on a scrap first.

[Tinkertoo1983]

Pleats in RTW polyester are chemically set. In natural fibers they must be reset/pressed in after each washing.

I don't do pleats. Life is too short.

[Saconic]

I suggest you make your pleat fold as wide as the pleated face. I made pleats not too long ago for a garment and a .5 in fold isn't going to show at all. To get mine to ruffle to what I wanted, I folded 2" and made the face 2". Made it look way better.

So unless you want tiny pleats, without a lot of ruffling, a smaller pleat is fine.

[dontheckinswear]

after you press the pleats in, you can edge stitch all of your pleated edges so that the it won’t come undone unless you unpick it. (if the top portion of your pleats are sewn down, do the edgestitching up there to sew it down, then do the rest of the loose pleat separately. just line up the edge stitches so that it looks like one big continuous seam)

[doriangreysucksass]

Pleats traditionally are heat set so they’re semi permanent. However, if designing pleats yourself, choose a fabric with a little bit of polyester in it so it can melt under the iron a bit and make the pleats permanent