Advice few sewing box pleats?

[Barb T]

I assume from your first post that you are working in tartan? If so, the following are the easiest directions for doing box pleats.

The simplest thing to do is to pin and sew one pleat at a time, just like you do for a trad kilt. So, if you've pinned everything, I'd take it all out before you start - just keep track of where you want the edges of the pleats to be.

Hold the kilt so that the top edge is at the left and the bottom edge at the right (you'll be pleating away from you, starting at the apron edge. Fold and baste the edge of the apron. Locate where the edge of the first pleat will be, lap the folded apron edge along that line, and stitch on the outside by hand using a blind stitch _through only one thickness of fabric_ (this is different than pleating a knife-pleated kilt).

Locate the other edge of the first pleat, and fold it along that line (don't press). Locate the edge of the second pleat, and lap the fold of the first one along that line. Stitch along the edge using a blind stitch. Fold, lap, stitch until you've sewn all the pleats.

Work your way across the back of the kilt. When you're done, you'll have 8 or 9 big loops of fabric on the back of the kilt. Flip the kilt over, front down. Flatten the "loops" into box pleats.

[ardchoille]

I assume from your first post that you are working in tartan? If so, the following are the easiest directions for doing box pleats.

The simplest thing to do is to pin and sew one pleat at a time, just like you do for a trad kilt. So, if you've pinned everything, I'd take it all out before you start - just keep track of where you want the edges of the pleats to be.

Hold the kilt so that the top edge is at the left and the bottom edge at the right (you'll be pleating away from you, starting at the apron edge. Fold and baste the edge of the apron. Locate where the edge of the first pleat will be, lap the folded apron edge along that line, and stitch on the outside by hand using a blind stitch _through only one thickness of fabric_ (this is different than pleating a knife-pleated kilt).

Locate the other edge of the first pleat, and fold it along that line (don't press). Locate the edge of the second pleat, and lap the fold of the first one along that line. Stitch along the edge using a blind stitch. Fold, lap, stitch until you've sewn all the pleats.

Work your way across the back of the kilt. When you're done, you'll have 8 or 9 big loops of fabric on the back of the kilt. Flip the kilt over, front down. Flatten the "loops" into box pleats.

After I figured out how to do this, I took a 2 yard length of scrap 11 ounce tartan and used the above method to sew in 4 box pleats. After the pleats were hand-sewn in, I took the ends of the piece and stretched them - trying to see how much stress the hand stitches would take - and none of the stitching ripped. I was pulling pretty hard and expected at least some of the stitches to pop but none of them did and 13/16 ounce tartan is more rugged than what I was testing. I know the stabilizer and interfacing take the stress off the seams but I wanted to see how the seams handle it. I was pleasantly surprised.