Wide knife pleat vs box pleat

**derosa** · 29th August 17, 05:45 AM

I'm at the point of pressing pleats, which I'm not finding easy, I tried tacking them down but found it just made for wavy pleats. Part of the issue I'm running into is in the slight overlap in the back of the pleats from adjusting the pleats narrower then the ideal for the pattern. As I started stitching the edges to make everything easier to press to as perfect a line I couldn't help thinking it looked good albeit different as a knife pleat. In the pic the pleats with the white thread holding the edges are knife style and lay flat while the box pleats on the left have been pressed flat. It won't take much for me to finish stitching down the other side to make box pleats but I can't decide if its worth the effort to do so and just not stick to wide knife pleats; thoughts?

IMG_20170829_160858_01.jpg

**Taskr** · 29th August 17, 10:43 AM

On uploading pictures, if the file is too large it won't play. I email them to myself and select "small" when prompted for attachment size.

**derosa** · 29th August 17, 01:12 PM

Originally Posted by Taskr

On uploading pictures, if the file is too large it won't play. I email them to myself and select "small" when prompted for attachment size.

That did it, thanks

**Taskr** · 29th August 17, 01:15 PM

Given the width, box pleat gets my vote for visual appeal draped, and appears it flashes the yellow stripe more prominently. Looks good

and, you're welcome

**The Wizard of BC** · 29th August 17, 01:20 PM

I'm not sure I understand the problem. Perhaps you could re-word your description a little better.

Oh, and when you baste be very carefull to keep the pleats below the bottom of the Fell perfectly straight and parallel. The way this kilt is basted will cause large, shower curtain folds in the back of the kilt.

**Taskr** · 29th August 17, 01:25 PM

I think it just comes down to; is box pleats or wide knife pleats better. If that's a standard weave tartan, the pleats are about 2"wide which support box well.

**derosa** · 29th August 17, 01:37 PM

Originally Posted by The Wizard of BC

I'm not sure I understand the problem. Perhaps you could re-word your description a little better.

Oh, and when you baste be very carefull to keep the pleats below the bottom of the Fell perfectly straight and parallel. The way this kilt is basted will cause large, shower curtain folds in the back of the kilt.

Basically I tried basting like the book said and that failed, the 4 pleats on the right side are the result and not as straight as I'd like, so I started stitching the edges to get them straight for pressing. But in doing so I thought it looked kind of nice as a knife pleat, the original goal was/is a box. I think the problem with basting and pressing was the fact that the back of the box pleats overlap so it isn't flat under the pleats and I'm not that skilled with an iron. Just trying to decide if it will ultimately look odd with just 12 wide knife pleats and seeking some collective wisdom.

**The Wizard of BC** · 29th August 17, 01:53 PM

So, can I ask why you chose to make narrower box pleats? If you look at a perfect box pleat the reveal will be 1/3 of a full Sett. It is not uncommon for box pleats to be 2.5 to 3 inches wide.

This would eliminate any excess overlap except behind the Fell where the pleats are tapered.

An example of extreme box pleat overlap is a Military box pleated kilt.

A box pleated kilt is called a 4 yard kilt as it will usually take about half the amount of fabric as a narrow knife pleated kilt.
The wide knife pleats are done for two basic reasons. One is to create a more rugged looking kilt. Sort of like a cargo kilt. The other reason is to save fabric. The wider the pleat - the fewer pleats - the less fabric. This is the way the low yardage or 5 yard kilts are made.

**The Wizard of BC** · 29th August 17, 02:01 PM

Oh, and by the way - We don't iron a kilt. We press. We use the heat from steam to soften the fibers and then press down - HARD.
We do not move the iron over the fabric. We press - lift - press. The basting is just to hold everything in place while we press. You will usually pull slightly, just enough to take the slack out of the fabric, the pleats to get the fabric to lay flat between the rows of basting.

**derosa** · 29th August 17, 04:09 PM

Originally Posted by The Wizard of BC

So, can I ask why you chose to make narrower box pleats? If you look at a perfect box pleat the reveal will be 1/3 of a full Sett. It is not uncommon for box pleats to be 2.5 to 3 inches wide.

Going exactly 1/3 of the set wouldn't have been optimum for my measurement, I first went wider but the small gap created seemed like it wouldn't let the pleats move as well while going slightly narrower would.