Page 104 - Textile

Textiles and Garment Construction

way. A pleat is used as a design on garments, household items or other accessories.
Pleats are also functional as they give fullness to skirts, dresses, shorts and trousers.
Pleats are suitable for both fine and medium weight fabrics. They are formed by folding
the fabric to create three overlapping layers. One pleat requires three times its finished
width. For example, if the finished pleat's width is 0.5cm, the amount of material
required to make the pleat is 1.5cm. Good pleats are acquired by folding and pressing
them before pinning and stitching to make them hang evenly and straight.

Types of pleats

Several types of pleats are available in different clothes, including knife, box, inverted
and kick pleats. In this section, the procedure for working out the common pleats is
discussed:

Knife pleats: These are the most common types of pleats that are folded and sewn to lie
flat in one direction along the grain of the fabric. They have the same width throughout.
They are commonly used in skirts, especially school uniforms. Refer to Figure 5.3.

Pleats

Figure 5.3: Knife pleats

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