Red Kirtle Progress

Before pleating, I hem the two edges of the skirt. (This becomes the center back later on)

After the hemming is done, I laid out the skirt, folded in half on my table. Then I clip every 1/2” to mark for my pleats.

Then lining up the center front and center backs, I begin pinning each side, using the 1/2” snips to line up box pleats of 1”. By starting at both the center front and center back, there is relatively little fiddling at the end to make the whole skirt fit, usually it’s only a matter of unpinning and re-pinning a couple of pleats.

Next up: Sew shoulder straps & skirt to bodice

Pleating Tips

I've finally decided to make the change from Livejournal to Blogger, whether or not I can port over my old posts.

To get this blog off on the correct footing, I'm going to post about a technique that has saved me hours of fiddling with measuring and guessing knife & box pleats.

1. Using a ruler or yardstick, evenly clip the width of your finished pleat. (In my case, I clipped every 1/2", making my box pleats 1" wide.)

2. Use the clips to distribute pleats evenly. (In my case, I did box pleats in the front, and organ pleats in the back)