Knife Pleat
Technique: Knife Pleat
Materials: Cotton (unbleached) muslin, unwashed
Spacing/Size: ½” on one side of fabric
Folding Methods: Pleats measured, marked, snipped; Folded only at top; Pressed
Anchoring methods: Top stitched approx. ¼” from edge
Notes and Reflections: Advantages, Disadvantages, Ideas, Evaluations
• Creates volume on one end of fabric (opposite of pleats/stitching)
• Understand how this lends itself to fashion – making a larger amount of fabric fit in to a smaller seam
Advantages:
• Can be standardized and easily translated by pattern for interpretation by others
Disadvantages:
• For this particular fabric pleats must be anchored with stitching or they will fall out
• Measuring and pinning takes time to be accurate
• Requires heat setting to create the folds before stitching.
Ideas for Exploration:
• Widths of pleats
• Variation in pleat length
• Folded along length of fabric