How Does a Smocking Pleater Work?
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Preparations
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The pleater must have the appropriate number of needles in place in order to pleat fabric for smocking. With a book or board under the front of the pleater, the top roller is removed. Specialty pleating needles are placed into the slots on the pleater. While pleater needles are not brand specific, some pleaters use a long needle and others a short. Depending upon the pleater, it may hold 16, 24, or less commonly, 32 needles. Needles should be placed for each row of pleating thread desired for your smocking pattern, plus two holding rows. The fabric to be pleated should be pressed and rolled onto a roller, working evenly and carefully. The top edge of the fabric should line up neatly. A clip or clothespin may be used to secure fabric that is hanging off the roller.
Threading the Pleater
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Each needle of the pleater must be individually threaded, preferably with a strong quilting or upholstery thread. Each thread used should be the length of your fabric to be pleated plus approximately 24 inches. A needle threader may be used to make threading the pleater faster and easier. A pleater thread box may also be purchased to allow you to keep your pleater threaded from the spool at all times. This is especially helpful if you pleat fabric frequently.
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Pleating Fabric
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Once the pleater is set up and threaded, the rolled fabric is placed through the guides at the back of the pleater. Working slowly to keep the fabric even, feed the front edge of fabric between the top and bottom metal rollers and slowly begin turning the handwheel on the pleater. Thin fabrics are easier to pleat than heavy ones, so take extra care with heavier weight fabric. Keeping your fabric even, continue turning the wheel to pull the fabric through the pleater from back to front. As you pleat, pull the fabric down and off the needles as needed to keep the needles clear. Continue turning the handwheel until all of the fabric has been fed through the rollers. Gently pull the fabric off the needles and onto the quilting thread. Cut the thread. You will now have evenly spaced rows of gathering threads on your fabric. Pull the threads to pleat the fabric to the desired size and tie off the threads, then clip away the excess pleating thread.
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References
- Photo Credit http://www.flickr.com/photos/athenerafie/493662794/
