Cartridge Pleats

[Lazy K]

I just thought I'd take a few minutes and show how to make cartridge pleats. Just about all my skirts have Cartridge pleats but none of my skirts are lined so I needed to experiment before I tackled this on my mourning dress.

I cut an extra 3 inches or so above the waist line so I can fold it over on the waistline. Hem or serge this raw edge. I cut off the seam allowance of the lining and placed the lining right on the waist line

[Lazy K]

I fold the 3" self facing over and hand baste to keep it in place. I mark the facing every 1/2" at the edge of the fold and then again another row of marks directly 1/2" below the first marks.

[Lazy K]

I then thread 2 needles with double waxed thread ( You DON'T want these threads to break ). Insert the threaded needle on each mark. Of course, one needle is used for top, one for the bottom. Make sure they look the same.
I've removed the hand basting

[Lazy K]

Gently pull each thread and gather the fabric for perfect pleats. The outside edge will have to be hand sewn onto the waist band. I usually go back over the pleats on the back side of the skirt and whip stitch the pleats together.

It's much easier to do then it is to explain. Did any of that make sense?

[Bloomin']

:ty :ty You explained it so well and made it look simple!! I wonder why it's called a cartridge pleat?

[Lazy K]

:ty :ty I wonder why it's called a cartridge pleat?

I have no idea.

[Cinnamon Teal]

Lazy K,

Nice job on the cartridge pleating.

Extra Tip - For something a little easier than marking for each pleat, use a stripe or even plaid - or sew a piece of gingham in and use it as your grid. I did this on one of my skirts and it worked wonderfully. I also use three rows of basting.

[Kid Sopris]

I know why it's called Cartridge Pleats!

[Lazy K]

Great tip Cinnamon Teal! Why didn't I think of that?!

And , Kid, Your's is the best (and only) explaination I've heard so let go with it.

[Madame Olive Yew]

Thank you Lazy K, I had read how to do cartridge pleats but it made no sense, seeing how-to is so helpful:ty


Kid, I do believe your right, or at least thats what I always thought too.

[Accurate Allie]

:ty Lazy K, that's a fantastic tutorial!!!

I have also had a friend tell me that you can use drapery tape to cartridge pleat if you are on a tight time constraint for some reason. I haven't tried it myself yet though, and I know that it won't hold the pleats together as well as if you do it this way.

Also, if you want to hold your pleats nice and tight, leave the gathering thread in the pleats and tie it off at the ends, instead of taking it out like you would with gathering threads. It will give the pleats more stability.

[Clancy]

K thanks for the info, but how does the skirt attache to the bodice or wasitband when the pleats are so big and heavy?

[Lazy K]

Here are pics of the inside and outside of my red Polka Dot.
I put a stitch in every pleat to attach it to the waist band . When you wear the dress the thickness of the pleat causes the skirt to stich out about and not lay close to the body. That's the point of the cartridge pleat, to make the skirt stick out

[Lazy K]

Oh, I didn't explain that the pleat is only attached on the very edge.

Does anyone else do it differently?

[Cinnamon Teal]

I do the same thing, LK. I want to be sure it's not going to come apart.

Also, as AA said, leave the threads in that you use to make the pleats. I took them out once and didn't like the result, so I put them back in.

I like cartridge pleating because I can get a lot of fabric in a small area - not that my waist is small but it certainly isn't 4 widths of 54-60" fabric.. thank goodness.:lool

[Lazy K]

I like cartridge pleating because I can get a lot of fabric in a small area - not that my waist is small but it certainly isn't 4 widths of 54-60" fabric.. thank goodness.:lool


:rofl :rofl :rofl :rofl :rofl
Yep I get about 60" of fabric to pleat into an 8" space.

[Cat Cimmaron]

I always leave the pleating threads in. It just looks better to me. We use it in renaissance costuming all the time. There is some evidence it was known and used then. In the 19th Century it was known as Gauging. I've been known to make them 1-1/2" deep. Depends upon how much fabric I'm trying to get in a small space. My Renaissance Court dresses average 5 yards per skirt. The underskirt is usually a gored skirt pattern.

[Lady Fleur]

YEP YEP YEP!!! Kid you are wonderful!!
Here is my cartridge pleated nobles!

[Prairie Wildflower]

:ty so much for showing us how and for the great explanation. I made a feeble attempt at cartridge pleating 20+ years ago for a CW outfit I made, with the help of a wonderful older seamstress who professionally made CW clothing. But that was when my fingers were 20 years younger and arthritis hadn't started to bother them - don't know if I'd want to tackle it now, although I love the look of cartridge-pleated outfits.

You are doing a FANTASTIC job on your outfit, Lazy K. I look forward to seeing your progress and the completed outfit.

[Greeneyed Gypsy]

I have seen and read that if the width of the pleat is larger ( she used 1/2 inch) that the inside of the pleat is dropped to accomodate all that fabric into the space required...I think that is what they are talking about with just attaching at the very outside edge. So you stitch the outter fold of each pleat and let the inside edge fall below the waist band...at least that how I understood the instructions to mean...and I believe they were from a civil war era construction article, that I cant remember where I found sorry!

Great images K now quit making me yearn to do crazy hand work! :gg