Can someone give advice on pleating?

[selectomatic]

I'm restoring my Seeburg Home Stereo Console, and the speaker grille cloth is bad. I've found some new material that's very similar to the original, and now my mother's trying to pleat it just like Seeburg did (see brochure picture below).

The problem is keeping the creases straight from top to bottom -- they tend to get a bit wavy.

Once the pleats are in, the cloth will be mounted using adhesive on a perforated metal grille, which will hold everything in place.

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

-kevin

 

[gansky1]

I would try a long piece of very thin wood or metal (like a flat tape measure) to make sure the pleats are straight. You could use a cardboard cutting grid for sewing to make sure they are even on each end. Once you have the fold, use a dry iron to press in the pleats.

Good luck!

http://www.createforless.com/products/productDetail.asp?ProductID=15992&SI=a2a1848c-a085-45e5-bd0f-e56a1a316cdc

 

[petek]

I would hazard a guess that that pleating was not done by hand at all but on an industrial pleating machine of some sort. Gregs idea sounds like abou the only way to go by hand using a straight edge and patience.

 

[ironrite]

Depending how thick/thin the fabric is, you may want to try an iron-on stabilizer. This can be found at most fabric stores in different weights and amount of stabilizing. It adds body to fabric. By pressing it on the back of the fabric, it would help to stiffen the fabric. Then draw lines with a air disolvable marker indicating the folds. Fold along the lines, then press the folds flat with an iron.

 

[petek]

Wouldn't the iron on stabilizer somewhat block some of the sound waves that are supposed to pass thru the fabric?

 

[aamassther]

Pete, if you use a light enough weight stabiliser it should be fine. Here is a link to the "Perfect Pleater". This device makes what you are trying to do much easier. You might want to experiment a little with when you stabilise. Meaning, you could iron it to the fabric before you pleat, or after to make it permanent. HTH, Todd

http://www.clotilde.com/detail.html?prod_id=1711&criteria=pleater

 

[gansky1]

Perfect Pleater!

That's it! I used to have an old version of this Perfect Pleater from like the 60's that I found at an estate sale. I never used it (for the intended use, skirts ;-) so I got rid of it and couldn't find one online today.

 

[whirlcool]

Don't they make a stabilizer that you iron on and then when you are finished you tear it off the fabric, or wash it and it comes off?

 

[ironrite]

Yes, there are those types of stabilizers as well. Usually the washable is used as a topping for things like towels or fleece if you're going to embroider on them. It keeps the thread from sinking into the fabric.

 

[selectomatic]

Thanks for the suggestions

I'll pass them on to my mom, and then we'll see what she makes of them.

-kevin

 

[sudsmaster]

Pleating

I remember seeing some vintage footage a while ago, about WWII rationing. Pleats for women's clothing, which I guess were popular in the 30's, became far fewer during the war years. This was supposed to save on precious material, although I suspect the savings were rather small. I wonder what the Scots did about making kilts, which are mostly pleats... lol...

 

[brisnat81]

Savings would've been large

Hi Rich,

I would suggest that the savings were huge.

I've measured and priced fabric to make pinch pleat curtains accross 3 windows with a total lenth of 5meters. I need 2.5-3 times the amount of fabric as width to get the folds right.
Total required 15 meters

I would assume that you would need at least twice the amount of fabric to make a lightly pleated skirt and potentially 2.5 - 3 times for a heavy pleat. My grandmothers heavily pleated skirts has a waist of 85cm, when you unrolled it flat, it used 130cm at the waist. If to her horror you stretched the pleats flat at the bottom it was 2.7 meters of fabric. As she got more unwell we had to keep taking the waist in. By the time she died, you could wrap them around her 2.5 times.