How to Make Pleats in Skirts

Pleated skirts have folds that are formed by folding the fabric back upon itself and securing the folds with sewing. The folds in pleats can pressed or ironed to give them a polished look, or they can be relaxed for more casual skirts. This classic style, called the knife pleat, has been around since the late 19th century.

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Cotton fabric that is several inches longer than your desired width
• Large piece tracing paper
• Tracing wheel
• Measuring tape or ruler
• Sewing machine with sewing thread
• Straight pins

1. Lay the right of the skirt face down on a large piece of tracing paper. Draw your pleat lines on the wrong side of the skirt with the tracing wheel.

2. Sew by hand a small backstitch along the traced line used to mark your pleat. Be sure to use a contrasting thread and to avoid tying knots.

3. Sew a blind hem to the front panel by machine. Stop about 4 inches from each side seam.

4. Sew a stitch about 4 inches from the top edge down to the hem. The place 4 inches from the top is called the breakpoint. Instead of backstitching, pull the threads through to the back and simply tie off to secure the stitch.

5. Pin the pleats from the waist to the break point to secure them. Stitch through all layers so that each newly stitched line is matched up with the one before it. Pull the threads through the back instead of backstitching.

6. Use an iron to press the pleats, matching the traced lines with each back fold.

7. Sew an edge stitch down the back side of each pleat.

Tips & Warnings

• The right side of the fabric refers to the side that is visible, while the wrong side refers to the inside, or the side that is not visible after a garment is made.
• Try to make the pleat folds by using a pleater, such as the one pictured at Taunton, to help you create even, crisp-looking pleats (see Resources below).
• There are many different kinds of pleats, some of which are explained at length at Elizabethancostume.net (see Resources below).
• The knife pleat is constructed with a 3 to 1 ratio, meaning 3 inches of fabric for each 1 inch of pleat.
• Edge stitches are best sewn with an edge foot on the sewing machine.
• Some pleats may not hold their folds after being pressed. You may have to sew the pleats in place at the bottom of the skirt.
• When measuring and securing your pleat folds, remember that you need the right number of pleats so that the waist is still the right measurement. You may need to try on the skirt before sewing to make sure you have the right waist size.
• Knowledge of backstitching, edge-stitching, sewing a waistband and sewing in a zipper are required to make pleated skirts.

Resources

• Pleater at Taunton
• Different pleats at Elizabethancostume.net