knife pleats

7/30/2019 Knife Pleats

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How To Make Knife Pleats

http://www.sew4home.com/tips-resources/sewing-tips-tricks/how-make-knife-pleats

Editor: Liz Johnson Thursday, 17 May 2012 3:00

A knife pleat sounds dangerous, but is actually one of the easiest and, we think, prettiest

members of the pleat family. In a knife pleat, the folds are pressed to one side in the

same direction, which is why they are also sometimes called side pleats. More than

likely, you've seen knife pleats on a garment; like those great tartan kilts bag pipers areknown to wear... with or without something underneath.

Using a pleat, regardless of type, is a way to gather fabric to create fullness. You see the

technique most often on garments, predominately skirts. However, it's a great option as

a border effect along the hemline of a garment or around a pillow. Pleats are timeless,

and can be adapted to any type of project. The resulting visual effect can become a truefocal point, taking the project to the next level.

Earlier this week, you learnedHow to Make A Box Pleat Or Inverted Box Pleat. Today,

you'll soon be a knife pleat expert. And, down the road, be on the lookout for wave

pleats, accordion pleats, sunray pleats and more.


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We used knife pleats in one direction (facing down) on ourunique tuxedo pillowcases.

Fabric and pleats

The type of fabric you select is an important factor in both the crispness of your pleats

as well as the size. Natural fiber fabrics lend themselves better to pleats than their

synthetic counterparts. Fabrics such as cotton, wool or silk will hold pleats whenpressed. Synthetic fabrics require more work to hold pleats in place.

In addition, the weight of your selected fabric is also a factor. Finer fabrics, such as

handkerchief linen are best for narrow pleats where bulk is not an issue. Heavier weight

fabrics, such as wool are better suited for wide pleats.

If you're not using a pattern with fabric suggestions, how do you know what size to

make your pleats? We recommend testing a sample of your fabric with markings atvarious intervals to see what looks best to you. Start with a 1" fold and go up or down

from there.

Marking for knife pleats

The knife pleat is considered to be the most basic pleat. You create a fold in the fabric ata predetermined width, and press in one direction on the right side of the fabric. Unlike

other types of pleats, knife pleats always travel in a gang. Just one or two would beconsidered more a tuck than a pleat. Because you are working in multiples, you need to

mark your fabric very accurately.

To start, you want to have the proper marking tool for your fabric. This is sometimeseasier said than done, but do not fear, we are here to guide you. Your favorite sewing


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supply retailer will likely have quite a selection of fabric marking pens, pencils, chalks,

etc. How you determine which will work best? Try them on fabric scraps! The ultimate

goal is two-fold; one, you need to be able to see the mark on your chosen fabric, which

means a dark line on light fabric and a light line on darks; and two, you must make sure

the marks can be easily removed from your selected fabric. It's a good idea to have a

few different types of marking tools to choose from in your sewing basket, becauseoften one type works better on one fabric than another. Below is a picture of a few of

the marking tools we have in the S4H studio.

Guide lines for knife pleats ultimately have to show up on the right side of the fabric.

Depending on the fabric type, marking tool, and/or project, you may have to draw your

marks on the wrong side then use thread basting to see them on the right side. Or, you

may be able to simply mark the pleat lines on the right side. Below, we show you how

to do both.

NOTE:If you're using a commercial pattern, you will need to take added steps to mark

your fabric because you will have the paper pattern between you and the fabric. You

can use a variety of methods which may include a tracing wheel and transfer paper, pin

markings, and/or clipping at the fabric edge. The key is not to move the pattern piece

too much so as not to skew the placement of the pleats.

Marking on the right side only

1. The markings for all pleats, regardless of type, have two fold lines: one for theoutside fold and one for the inside fold. In addition to these two lines, you also

have a placement line and sometimes little arrows that point in the direction you

will fold or press the pleats. If you look at a commercial pattern, the fold line is

usually a dotted line and the placement line is a solid. If you are following a

tutorial or designing something yourself, we recommend using a similarapproach.


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NOTE:In our example below, the pleats are 1" wide, which means we mark the

fold lines 1" apart, and the placement line 1" from the inside fold line. Repeat

this process so there is a line marking every inch. This same pattern would be

followed if your pleats are larger or smaller. The key is to keep all your lines

even.

2. Place your fabric RIGHT side up on a flat surface large enough for your fabricpiece.3. Working on the right side of the fabric, use a marking tool and ruler to mark the

fold lines with dotted lines and the placement lines (where the fold will be

pressed flat) with solid lines. If you need additional help to differentiate between

the two, you can use two different colors.

NOTE: Some experts recommend making small snips in the edge of the fabric atthe fold lines and placement lines in addition to marking.


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4. Pinch the fabric up so the first dotted line (the outside fold line) is at the top ofthe fold and the second dotted line (the inside folde line) is at the bottom. Fold

towards the placement line.

5. The bottom or inside fold line will be your guide to keep your pleats even insize. Pin to hold each pleat in place.


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6. Continue in this manner until you have folded and pinned all the pleats.

7. Transfer the pleated panel to your ironing board for pressing (we have somenotes on pressing below).

Marking on the wrong side with basting thread

1. Sometimes, you simply can't mark from the front without ruining your project.In this case, you can mark from the back and use basting thread to create guide

lines you can see from the front.

2. Place your fabric WRONG side up on a flat surface large enough for your fabricpiece.

3. Following the same steps as above for marking on the front, create all yourguidelines on the wrong side of the fabric.

4. Using a hand needle and thread, run a long basting stitch through the markedlines. We used two different thread colors to differentiate between fold lines and


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placement lines.

5. Turn the fabric over to the RIGHT side to fold and pin into place exactly as youdid above.

Marking pleats farther apart

If you're wondering how knife pleats would look spaced farther apart, we can show you!

To do this, simply leave more space between the placement line and the outside fold

line of the next pleat.


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In our example below, we spaced the pleats 2" apart.

Pressing knife pleats

After you've spent the time to pleat your fabric, you certainly do not want the pleats tobe comprised. Placing pins at either end of the pleat along the raw edges, and a few pins

in between if your pleats are quite long, will help keep the fabric in place until you get it

over to the ironing board.


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Once at the ironing board, it's never a good idea to press your fabric with pins in it! So,

remove the pins as you slowly press your pleated folds. But, what if you have a large

piece of fabric? Simply pin the fabric to the your ironing board cover.

One other detail to think about when pressing pleats is whether or not the pressed fabric

folds will leave an indentation in your fabric. If you use a pressing a cloth, or brown

paper, in between the folds as you press them, it will help eliminate indents.

Securing knife pleats in place


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Once you've completed the pressing phase, you need to secure the pleats so the fabric

piece can be sewn into your final project. For this, depending on your project, a simple

basting stitch along one or both raw edges will hold the pleats in place.

Again, depending on the project, knife pleats can also be partially sewn or topstitched

along the fold. This technique is often used on crisp skirts to secure pleats from the

waist to the hip.

Conversely, if you're sewing a knife-pleated skirt from a lightweight fabric, the pleats

can be left to hang loose into soft folds from the waist. It all depends on the overallvisual effect you are going for on the finished project (or finished garment in this case).


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NOTE:If your pleated piece is part of a garment, any hemming should be done beprior

to pleating. It can be done afterwards, but you would need to repress all your pleats.

Another accepted practice is to edgestitch each fold. When would you do this? If you're

using a lighter fabric and want the folds to remain in place (instead of becoming loose

folds as mentioned above), edgestitching will help the pleats remain crisp at the edges.Remember, don't baste across the raw edges with this technique.

You can also sew a knife pleat at the base of the folds, which will make the pleatsbecome almost 3-D from your fabric. We used this type of effect in ourBlack & White

Lumbar Pillow project. You'll notice these knife pleats are spaced farther apart (as

described above) instead of folded one upon another.


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If you decide to get really creative, you could use a contrasting thread along the inside

folds of your knife pleats for a fun look! (Of course, in our technique tutorials, we

always use a contrasting thread so you can clearly see how to do the technique.)

Contributors

Sample Creation and Instructional Outline: Jodi Kelly


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knife pleats

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