Pleat Perfection!

Pleats are a popular garment detail, lending visual interest and controlling the fullness in a garment. These fabric folds add motion and fun to a skirt, whether they run its entire length, or decorate only the lower hemline edge. Pleats can be soft or crisp, pressed or unpressed. Basic formations include: knife pleat, the box pleat and the inverted pleat.  

Here's the secret! While pleats aren't difficult to sew, professional results require accuracy in cutting, marking and stitching! A pleat is created by the use of multiple folds. If any of these important steps is "off" by even 1/8" on each fold of an 8-pleat skirt, the distortion is also multiplied and the result is a waistline that is a full inch too small or too large at the waistline.