Alli, any luck...

[Coffee Em]

Alli, any luck finding an archived copy of the instructions for making a pleater? I'm still kicking myself for not making a copy the first time you posted it.

(Oh, and apologies if you've already had a ton of discussions about this in the last few months. That would be what I get for not keeping up!)

Cheers,
Coffee Em

[Tornado Alli]

Coffee 'Em!!!!!!!!! OMG, just for you showing back up again, I will repost the Pleater instructions!! I will try to get that done today if possible. I have company, so I may not get time, but I will get it done very soon.

Welcome back, Sugar, I have missed you!

[Goldie]

Here's a link to a site I found a while back http://www.ggcreations.com.au/althea/notions/bits/pleat.html

[Kitty Phann]

Coffee Em

Welcome back! :tban I was just thinking about you and wondering where you were. What have you been up to?

[Nellie Blue]

I was thinking about the pleater also! Can't wait for you to post it....I need it so I can start me EOT projects. Of course you know that you not posting it not the reason I'm not starting...It's my not WANTING TO SEW!!! :rofl

[Coffee Em]

I miss you guys soooooooooo much--but darn it, if I hang around here for very long, suddenly all I want to do it sew! (Funny how that works...) I'm trying to ration myself: if I get a bunch of writing done in the morning, I can sew in the afternoon or evening. But if I don't, the current sewing project has to remain a cat-couch until the writing gets done.

And you all just lead me astray...:sk !

I had a concept the other day for the back of a dinner gown skirt, though--sort of a tiered fishtail of pleats down the center back. I sketched it out, looked at it, and said, "Yeah, right. Not without a pleater, honey." Which reminded me of my favorite way to address problems like that--to yell, "Help, Belles, help!"

Cheers,
Coffee Em

[Lady Dallas]

You'll never guess what I found on my hard drive at work.....:dc

The pleater class!!!! Wahoo:cheers I saved it off thinking I REALLY need to make one of these sometime.

Problem is I put it all into one big doc and I can't upload it here. so I'll be cutting and pasting it back in. Be patient with me.


Tornado Alli 02-25-2005 12:07 AM

How to Make a Pleater - Online "Class"

This is my first online class! I am going to show you how to make your own pleater. I did mine in about three hours but that included posting on the Alley in between steps, doing laundry and stopping to take pictures! This will make a finished pleater that has ½ “ pleats, and measures 16 “ wide by 12” long. I made it extra wide to accommodate a larger piece of material in the event I ever want to make a pleated bodice.

You will need to get some supplies. You will need:

About a 1 ½ yards of calico or some preshrunk cotton• material.

A yard of Pellon 70 stabilizer, either fusible or• non-fusible

1 or 2 rolls of Heat ‘n Bond (we will call this HnB)• Ultrahold (available at all fabric stores and Walmart) You will need an extra roll if you get non-fusible Pellon to fuse it to the fabric. I used non fusible Pellon and an extra roll of HnB.

Scissors or a rotary cutter and• mat

A Straight edge like a yard stick•

Iron and Ironing• board

Spray Starch or Sizing•

Rajah cloth or a spray bottle• with a 10% vinegar solution

Marking pen•

Pinking• Shears

[Lady Dallas]

PHooey:spit I can't get the pics back in. Is there anyone I can email this to who can break it back down and post it?:fb

[Coffee Em]

Me! I can do it (I think...) The only hitch is that I'm on a Mac. What kind of file is it?

(I could certainly re-size the pictures for you, at least; I'm PMing you my e-mail address, in case you want me to do it.)

Cheers,
Coffee Em

[Garnet Rose]

I'll try to break it down and post it all

First pleater picture

[Garnet Rose]

Pellon 70 Stabilizer

[Garnet Rose]

The Heat ‘n Bond that I used came in a 17” wide piece by 1 yard, so I used two of them.

First, cut the Pellon to 16” wide by 1 yard, less 1” (35”).

Then cut a piece of calico 17” wide by 1 yard.

Next fuse the HnB to the wrong side of the calico, using an iron set to the wool setting. Use the iron flat and go slow, being careful not to stretch the fabric. Make sure you get all the edges and the corners and don’t leave any air pockets.

Then, peel the paper backing off the HnB fused to the calico. Lay it face down on your ironing surface and place the pellon on top, centering it so that you have ½” of calico on all sides.

Now fuse the pellon to the calico, using a hot iron. Go slow and get it all. Fold the long edges up and over the pellon to keep from having raw edges that will ravel and fuse them down. Trim the corners and fold the short edges up and over and fuse down.

[Garnet Rose]

On the pellon side, starting 1” in from the short side, start marking your pleats. Mark every ½” on both sides, making sure they line up. Then draw a line to connect them.

Next start folding your pleats and iron them in place, spraying them with the spray starch to set them.

I used pins on my edges to hold them in place which worked fine. I even fused the calico over the pins and then pulled them out with no trouble.

[Garnet Rose]

5th picture

[Garnet Rose]

Once you get all your pleats set, ironed and pinned. Measure your finished length. It should be around 12” but yours may vary.

Cut a piece of HnB the length of your pleater


Cut a piece of calico ½” longer than the length of your pleater, by 16 ½”. Using your pinking shears, trim ¼” from each side.

[Garnet Rose]

On the pellon side of your pleater, fuse the HnB over your pleats to set them. Take your time and make sure you get it really fused well.

Peel the paper off the HnB and place the second piece of calico over the pleater, right side up. Fuse that to the pleater. This will seal the back and keep the pleats in place.

[Garnet Rose]

another picture

[Garnet Rose]

Now you are ready to play!!! Take a scrap piece of fabric and place it on one side of the pleater. Starting at one end, carefully tuck the fabric into the first pleat and continue for the entire piece of fabric.

Using a really hot iron, press the pleats into place. You can use the Rajah cloth or the vinegar solution to really set them into place.

[Garnet Rose]

next picture

[Garnet Rose]

another picture

[Garnet Rose]

If your fabric is stubborn or doesn’t press that well, move it to the side so that about ½” extends beyond your pleater. Hint: with the pleats going away from you, put the fabric on the left side of the pleater. You will see that I reversed it in the picture which is why I tell you to do it the other way!!! Remember I am the guinea pig here!

[Garnet Rose]

closer picture

[Garnet Rose]

After pressing the pleats as best you can, then take the whole thing, pleater and all and baste stitch the pleats in place on the extended end.

You can see that I was stitching against the pleats which is why I told you to go the other way. MUCH easier!

[Garnet Rose]

Carefully slip your fabric out of the pleater and there you are!!!

[Garnet Rose]

For bigger pleats, just skip every other “tuck” to make 1” pleats or every two tucks to make 1 ½” pleats, etc. For longer lengths of fabric, you just have to do it in stages, ironing them in place or stitching them, then moving it down and lining up the next pleat. Time consuming but not nearly as painful as ironing each pleat in place by hand (ouch!!)

[Garnet Rose]

This Perfect Pleater class was originally posted by Tornado Alli on
02-25-2005 at 12:26 AM.

Due to the size constraints for uploading to the Alley, some of the pictures are not as sharp as in the original document Lady Dallas emailed to me. If anyone would prefer to have the document, I'll be glad to forward it along to you.

[Coffee Em]

YES!

"Get it?" "Got it." "Good," as they say in the Danny Kaye movie.

Lady Dallas, I got the file, but it only had links to the old picture locations...which now lead to some excellent photos of Miss Ruby and her shooting pards. But Garnet Rose saves the day!

Alli, Lady D., and Garnet, :ty :ty :ty --and what great teamwork!

Cheers,
Coffee Em

[Coffee Em]

Oh, that "Yes" was in response to the pleater instructions; the photos are clear enough to get the idea from, so I don't need other copies. (Cross-posting strikes again!)

Cheers,
Coffee Em

[Coffee Em]

Tried to change the title of the thread to "Make a Pleater," but I could only change the title of my original post. You smart admin folks, can you do that, so the instructions will be easy for the gang to find?

Cheers,
Coffee Em

[Lady Dallas]

Glad to be of service. I guess it pays to never delete anything from your computer.....

Lady Dallas

[Tornado Alli]

Life seems to be dashing along at about 110 mph these days! I am glad you managed to get that done without me. Sorry for my procrastination and I am glad that we have members resourceful enough to manage without me!

:ty

[Coffee Em]

Are you kidding? We can't ever manage without you! We just make do 'til you come back!

Cheers,
Coffee Em

[Fannie Kikinshoot]

BTT for all those wanting to make pleats!

[Fannie Kikinshoot]

BTT for May B Quicker!!

[May B Quicker]

:ty Fannie!

[Petticoat Betty]

And a big thank you from over here too!!! I wanted to look it up for some time now, but got distracted from it due to all the mystery gowns on the Alley lately...:gg:gg:gg
Now I can print it and put it in my "how to..." organizer:ty

[Hannah K. Gelt]

Thought I'd give this here thread a :bump since I know there has to be others that REFUSE to pay $40.00 for something all of us can make...
(yes, even a gimp like me)

OK well I'm in the process of making so we'll see how it turns out... I am excited though since I have a ruffle to make that is calling for 12" long pleats...

Picture when I'm done...

[Dixie McCan]

Hannah. I'm so glad you :bump ed this! :ty:ty:ty

[Hannah K. Gelt]

My pleasure Miss Dixie...

First attempt was a complete failure I think... Not sure if I read something wrong or bought the wrong stuff but the Pellon 70 that I got was WAAAAAAY to thick...

Not only was there NO WAY I was getting a pin through it to hold the folds but the folds themselves were not as crisp as I think they are supposed to be...

GOt to work this morning and headed straight over to the fabric dept... Got some different stuff and will try it tonight... Still Pellon and says it's Extra Firm but it's not as thick as the stuff I got last night...

Wish me luck...

On the bright side... A little ribbon cris crossing and I now have a really cute picture board from the piece I attempted last night... :lool

[Hannah K. Gelt]

OK...

Second attempt with thinner stuff was a success... Although I wonder if it's made up of different material as the HnB took a lot longer (more work) to get it to bond... May be my iron though... I think it may finally be giving up the goose so to speak...

Was all set to stay up waaaaay past my bedtime to finish it up but it seems I can't find the last package of HnB that I bought yesterday.. Think the puppies may have gotten it as I have searched the house and can't find it.. Too dark last night and this morning to look for it outside....

Tip to add that I found made it a lot easier to make the folds...

I was having trouble making my folds stay true to my line so I grabbed my seam ripper and using the blunter part of the tip "scored (without actually cutting) along the line while I folded... I then pinned the edges down and the fold just fell into place basically...

[Dixie McCan]

Great tip!