Advice few sewing box pleats?

[ardchoille]

I assume from your first post that you are working in tartan? If so, the following are the easiest directions for doing box pleats.

The simplest thing to do is to pin and sew one pleat at a time, just like you do for a trad kilt. So, if you've pinned everything, I'd take it all out before you start - just keep track of where you want the edges of the pleats to be.

Hold the kilt so that the top edge is at the left and the bottom edge at the right (you'll be pleating away from you, starting at the apron edge. Fold and baste the edge of the apron. Locate where the edge of the first pleat will be, lap the folded apron edge along that line, and stitch on the outside by hand using a blind stitch _through only one thickness of fabric_ (this is different than pleating a knife-pleated kilt).

Locate the other edge of the first pleat, and fold it along that line (don't press). Locate the edge of the second pleat, and lap the fold of the first one along that line. Stitch along the edge using a blind stitch. Fold, lap, stitch until you've sewn all the pleats.

Work your way across the back of the kilt. When you're done, you'll have 8 or 9 big loops of fabric on the back of the kilt. Flip the kilt over, front down. Flatten the "loops" into box pleats.

I'm sorry, but I don't understand a word of that.

These are box pleats. I don't understand how to do a blind stitch on the outside of the kilt because the edges of box pleats meet.. there is no way to access the material beneath the box pleats in order to do a blind stitch because the edges of the box pleats are touching one another. Isn't there a way to hide the stitching on the outside of a box pleated kilt?

Maybe I'm just too dumb to grasp this.

[ardchoille]

Ok, I think I've got it:

lay the material out flat and mark a line on the inside of the kilt every 3 inches, do this for the entire pleat length. Fold the material between each line you've drawn so that the first and second lines touch and stitch the fell along that line on a sewing machine. fold the material again so that the third and fourth lines touch and stitch that down. Do the same for the fifth and sixth lines and so on for the entire pleat length. When you're done you will have material with loops every three inches. Lay that material out with the loops on top and press the loops down so that the edges of each loop are touching the edges of the neighboring loops. When you turn the material over.. viola.. box pleats with the stitching hidden on the inside of the material. The inside pleats can be hand stitched and the stitching will not be seen from the outside of the kilt.

This looks like it will work and it will cut a lot of hand sewing. It will hide all stitching and form much better stitches than my skills will allow. Of course, the 3 inches should be adjusted for the width of desired pleats. My friend even did this on a scrap piece of cloth and it looks awesome from the outside.

Can someone comment on this technique?

[ChattanCat]

Ok, I think I've got it:

lay the material out flat and mark a line on the inside of the kilt every 3 inches, do this for the entire pleat length. Fold the material between each line you've drawn so that the first and second lines touch and stitch the fell along that line on a sewing machine. fold the material again so that the third and fourth lines touch and stitch that down. Do the same for the fifth and sixth lines and so on for the entire pleat length. When you're done you will have material with loops every three inches. Lay that material out with the loops on top and press the loops down so that the edges of each loop are touching the edges of the neighboring loops. When you turn the material over.. viola.. box pleats with the stitching hidden on the inside of the material. The inside pleats can be hand stitched and the stitching will not be seen from the outside of the kilt.

This looks like it will work and it will cut a lot of hand sewing. It will hide all stitching and form much better stitches than my skills will allow. Of course, the 3 inches should be adjusted for the width of desired pleats. My friend even did this on a scrap piece of cloth and it looks awesome from the outside.

Can someone comment on this technique?

It is interesting that box pleats look the same on the outside and inside. So, it should work. What are you planning to do with the edges of the box pleats that aren't sewn? If these are on the inside, then you can tack them together. On the outside it is more of a concern to have them with blind, hidden stitches.

[ardchoille]

It is interesting that box pleats look the same on the outside and inside. So, it should work. What are you planning to do with the edges of the box pleats that aren't sewn? If these are on the inside, then you can tack them together. On the outside it is more of a concern to have them with blind, hidden stitches.

The loops will be on the inside. Once you press those down, you can hand stitch them and it won't matter what the stitching looks like because they will be covered with a liner (inside of the kilt) - you can't see the inside of the fell when the kilt is being worn anyway. When you press down the loops and turn the material over, you will be looking at the box pleats as seen from the outside of the kilt (which were machine stitched from the inside).

I'm going to use this technique to make a couple of kilts. Sewing the pleats should take about 15 minutes or less instead of the 10 hours or more required with hand sewing.

[Barb T]

OK - just so it's clear, I'll try describing it again. I think some of you have got it, but I think there's still some confusion. And the method below doesn't work really well with outside top stitching, so I'm assuming that you're stitching by hand. I'm sorry that I'm not home right now - I'm in San Jose. If I were home, I'd sketch it and scan it and post it, but I can't do that from out here.

For clarification, stitching box pleats is _not_ done by folding two pleat edges toward one another and then stitching the two edges together. So, it helps to completely take it out of your head that you are making box pleats. The box comes later.

Here goes again with another attempt at a description!!

Don't worry about doing this on a kilt. Just grab any piece of plain fabric and a hand full of pins. Once you get the idea on something without stripes, you can then stitch your kilt.

-Lay the cloth out long ways away from you on a table. Mark 4 width-wise lines on the fabric as follows. Mark the first one 12" from the edge that's nearest to you. Mark the next one 4" farther away. Then mark one 2" from that. Then put the fourth line 4" from line 3. Don't worry at this point if you can't see why. Just do it.

-Go to your first line, fold the cloth along the line, and pin the edge to hold the fold.

-Bring the pinned fold to the second chalk line, and pin _through only one thickness below_. Stitch the edge of the fold through only one thickness. This does not look like a box pleat, but it will eventually. Trust me.

-Then go to the next line you chalked (line 3), fold along that line and pin to hold.

-Line this new fold up with line four, pin, and stitch edge through one thickness below.

Now, if you look at what you have, you have two seams, and one "tube" or loop of fabric behind each of the seams. Place the cloth with the seam side down on the table, and the "tubes" up. Flatten each tube, laying half the tube down on one side of the seam and half on the other. Voila - an instant box pleat from each tube.

[ardchoille]

OK - just so it's clear, I'll try describing it again. I think some of you have got it, but I think there's still some confusion. And the method below doesn't work really well with outside top stitching, so I'm assuming that you're stitching by hand. I'm sorry that I'm not home right now - I'm in San Jose. If I were home, I'd sketch it and scan it and post it, but I can't do that from out here.

For clarification, stitching box pleats is _not_ done by folding two pleat edges toward one another and then stitching the two edges together. So, it helps to completely take it out of your head that you are making box pleats. The box comes later.

Here goes again with another attempt at a description!!

Don't worry about doing this on a kilt. Just grab any piece of plain fabric and a hand full of pins. Once you get the idea on something without stripes, you can then stitch your kilt.

-Lay the cloth out long ways away from you on a table. Mark 4 width-wise lines on the fabric as follows. Mark the first one 12" from the edge that's nearest to you. Mark the next one 4" farther away. Then mark one 2" from that. Then put the fourth line 4" from line 3. Don't worry at this point if you can't see why. Just do it.

-Go to your first line, fold the cloth along the line, and pin the edge to hold the fold.

-Bring the pinned fold to the second chalk line, and pin _through only one thickness below_. Stitch the edge of the fold through only one thickness. This does not look like a box pleat, but it will eventually. Trust me.

-Then go to the next line you chalked (line 3), fold along that line and pin to hold.

-Line this new fold up with line four, pin, and stitch edge through one thickness below.

Now, if you look at what you have, you have two seams, and one "tube" or loop of fabric behind each of the seams. Place the cloth with the seam side down on the table, and the "tubes" up. Flatten each tube, laying half the tube down on one side of the seam and half on the other. Voila - an instant box pleat from each tube.

Ok, I've mostly got it this time. thank you, Barb, for your tutelage and your patience. I'll quote the part I'm having trouble with.

"Place the cloth with the seam side down on the table, and the "tubes" up. Flatten each tube, laying half the tube down on one side of the seam and half on the other. Voila - an instant box pleat from each tube"

Once you "flatten each tube" (this makes the box pleats on the outside), how do you stitch those "tubes" down without the stitching showing? Once you flatten them, you have to do something to keep them flat, right?

[Bugbear]

Guess you tack down the inside part of the box somewhere up near the top, maybe when the stabilizer goes in...

[ChattanCat]

Ok, I've mostly got it this time. thank you, Barb, for your tutelage and your patience. I'll quote the part I'm having trouble with.

"Place the cloth with the seam side down on the table, and the "tubes" up. Flatten each tube, laying half the tube down on one side of the seam and half on the other. Voila - an instant box pleat from each tube"

Once you "flatten each tube" (this makes the box pleats on the outside), how do you stitch those "tubes" down without the stitching showing? Once you flatten them, you have to do something to keep them flat, right?

You need to add a few stitches at the bottom of the fell. Take the two edges that are next to each other, one from each adjoing box pleat on the inside. Then add a few stitches to hold them together. The top band and canvas will hold the top of the pleats together.

[fluter]

"Place the cloth with the seam side down on the table, and the "tubes" up...

Once you "flatten each tube" (this makes the box pleats on the outside),

Just to be sure we're all on the same page: the "seam side" is the outside or right side of the proto-kilt. The "tube side" is the inside.

We have hand-stitched the outside seam of the two box pleats, from the top, just as in The Book---except with a fold and one layer of fabric. With a knife pleated trad kilt, the next pleat would be folded already, and we'd stitch the edge of the "current" pleat to two layers of the next pleat.

I was confused about the process, as the only box pleat I'd done was a top-stitched X-kilt. The light dawned when Barb said: you stitch it just like a knife pleat, then open the pleat inside. If I'm still confused, someone please correct me.

[ardchoille]

You need to add a few stitches at the bottom of the fell. Take the two edges that are next to each other, one from each adjoing box pleat on the inside. Then add a few stitches to hold them together. The top band and canvas will hold the top of the pleats together.

For clarification, stitching box pleats is _not_ done by folding two pleat edges toward one another and then stitching the two edges together.

Ok, now I see the source of my confusion.. I thought the entire edge of each outside box pleat had to be stitched, but I was wrong about that. Now it all makes sense. I shall try to incorporate these new techniques.

Thank you kind folks for helping me understand all of this.