Monday, April 16, 2012

Sewing technique tutorial - Box Pleats

Sewing Techniques: Box Pleats Tutorial


Box pleats are a very common form of gathering a skirt or a dress. Unlike regular pleats (which go either to the left or right) these are symmetrical on both sides. Actually one box pleat is a combination of two small pleats going in opposite directions. Today I'll show you a very easy way to sew clean box pleats. I have chosen this green fabric to illustrate because:
1. It has stripes of varying width so it will be easy to demonstrate how the pleating worked.
2. And much more important - This is such a cheerful color.
I'm also using a red thread to easily show my seams but please, please use a matching thread when sewing in real life. The seams are not supposed to show ;-)







1. Mark how wide you want the pleat to be.


2. Fold fabric such that the marks coincide on the right side.

3. Sew a 2-3 inch long seam over the marks ( wrong side)

4. Now you have a kind of tube on the wrong side of the fabric with point A at the seam and point B exactly opposite point A.

5. Press the fabric such that point A meets point B.


6. On the right side sew a rectangle ( minus top edge) such that the first seam falls in the center of of the rectangle. Press.
Box pleat....

And why did I suddenly need to share this tutorial with you....


Well I have it on good authority that you are going to see a tutorial very soon which is using them. Its always good to be prepared, isn't it?




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11 comments:

  1. Oh cool! I looked at the first picture and thought these must be super hard, but when I read it, it's not so hard at all. I want to try some sometime.:)

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  2. Thanks for sharing this! I've never tried box pleats before but have wanted to learn. You made it look super easy.

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  3. Lovely! Thanks so much for posting at my Link Party. Hope to see you back again next week. Enjoy your day!
    Annemarie

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  4. Great tutorial! You've made it really easy to understand. If you're looking for another place to share, head on over to Etcetorize and join the party (http://etcetorize.blogspot.ca/2012/04/make-it-great-monday_29.html). Hope to see you there~

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  5. perfect and clear tutorial with great pictures! Pinned it!

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  6. Great tutorial! I featured this sewing tutorial on Sew Woodsy yesterday!

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  7. Thanks for sharing this tutorial on box pleats. As always, it's clear and easy to follow. Hope you don't mind, but I've moved this from the Baby link party, to the Sewing Tips and Techniques party...
    http://threadingmyway.blogspot.com/2012/04/threading-your-way-sewing-tips-and.html

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  8. I Love this little tutorial Anshu - and how it's a great teaser of a tutorial to come!!


    Thanks for linking to a Round Tuit!
    Hope you have a fabulous week!
    Jill @ Creating my way to Success
    http://www.jembellish.blogspot.com/

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  9. Hi Anshu, I've featured your Box Pleats tutorial today...
    http://creativechaosart.blogspot.co.uk/2012/08/felt-dolls.html

    Hope you don't mind, but I'm pinning this to the Pinterest Board for the Fab Folds challenge, as pleating is one of the techniques being used in the challenge...
    http://pinterest.com/rikkaw/fab-folds-sewing-challenge-sept-12/

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  10. Thank you for such an easy to follow tutorial!

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  11. Hi Anshu! Great tutorial. I've been emailing you but haven't heard back. Could you check your inbox pls?
    Best,
    Rikka

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Leave some sugar :)