Are you trying to pull the inner fold of the shaping up to the waist?

I just fold the edge of the apron from the lower edge up to the hip and press it flat - under a cloth. That part is straight - your apron edge seems to be flaring right to the bottom.

When the lower part of the apron is edge to edge with the last pleat, the top of the apron will be overlapping that pleat at the fell.

Now fold the top edge of the apron in wards and pin just the edges, to make the curves of the apron edge but allowing the inner part to be free.

Wool will compress or stretch when warm and wet, that is the basis of tailoring.

The edge of the apron is like a vertical dart in the fabric between the waist and the lower edge of the fell.

Behind that edge there is the under apron pleat - I have to raise the inner edge of that pleat very slightly so that there is a slender triangle visible above the waistline in order to stop that pleat rolling outwards.

The edge of apron shaping makes the top of that dart like fold dip down, so there is a lot going on just at the edge of the apron, but once you see how it is allowing the pleats to lay flat when laid on a three dimansional shape it should become clear what is going on.

I think that this is the standard method of doing the shaping - but it is the one that works for me

Anne the Pleater :ootd: