PleatsPleats are folds in fabric that are used to control fullness in a garment. They can be a simple detail... to feature a garment or the main feature of one. The pleat could also act as a functional detail. There are many things to consider when creating a garment with pleats, the fibre of the fabric and the fabrics’ weight, the size of the pleat, whether or not you should have your garment lined, a garments hem and how you plan to clean your garment. All these things are important when designing your garment.
When deciding what kind of pleat in a garment you want, you need to think about the fabric you will be using, visa versa. If you require the fabric to hold a sharp crease, it will be wise to natural fabrics such as linen or cotton. To achieve a sharp edge you will need to use a hot iron. Natural fibres are the best to use as many synthetics will melt under the heat and knits just won’t hold a crease.
The weight of the fabric is also important, as the fabric has to be able to achieve the look by carrying enough weight so that the fabric will hang. That brings in the importance of creating the pleats perfectly with the grain as this also can affect the performance of pleats.
If you have decided that lining is important for the garment, it is important that the lining should not interfere in anyway with the garment. It may only need to be half-lined so it is covering over the hips. To be fully lined I suggest that you have open side seams on each side so it allows for movement.
If you are working with a heavy fabric you may want to reduce the bulk at the hem and the waist by trimming it down, allowing it to sit flat without a bulky appearance.
The reason you should keep in mind of cleaning while deciding on how you want the pleats to be placed is this could help you when you do wash the garment. With many of the pleats you may want to topstitch over the pleats so they sit nice and flat, as far as the bottom of the hip. Doing this also helps when you come to ironing the pleat because the top half will guide you down the rest of the pleat. The other reason why this is good patience is it will help the pleats to hang, as they should.
