mini pleater
Karin Langeveld
Sorry, goofed up again - got it on the wrong newsgroup.
Appologies to everyone here - I don't think you'll want to pleat your
work, do you?
Karin
arm...@vms.cis.pitt.edu
Actually, some might! I found this interesting, since pleating is involved
in smocking, and some folk costumes I work with are heavily pleated (1/4
to 1/8 inch pleats), with the pleats fixed by intricate smocking designs.
I've always wanted to try making one of these, but the pinching involved
in pleating the thing would kill my hands. The old timers would do
it by washing the garment, then sitting on a bench and pleating it while
still wet (easily 3 hours of work for a blouse, or 2 days for a skirt),
then tying it up and drying on or over the stove. Some also used
loaves of fresh baked bread to press them (I guess the moist heat helped).
With a linen garment, the pleats would hold for a good length of time.
I tried this with a scrap of linen almost 2 years ago, and it's still
sitting in my junk drawer as crisp as the day I did it, despite being
shoved around and buried under other junk.