Ok Barb, I have to ask, does flabby refer to the stiffness of the material (I have been called flabby, but that has an entirely different meaning)? Is Alan working with a material that is more flexible and bendable, or maybe flappy? I know that the cloth I am working with is very pliable, to the point I am not sure I will be able to get it to hold a pleat at all without sewing them down, and I also found it difficult to pleat as you described. Although, I was also trying to adapt your directions as I am left handed, so maybe it was partly that as well.