Need help with pleater!
sdpl...@comcast.net
I need help using the Amanda pleater successfully- I have the booklet fromthe Smocking store, and do what it says...the fabric gets caught in the side, and I have remedied that- the last time I tried to use it, when the pleats were stacked up on the needles, I gently tried to pull them off onto the thread, and then all the needles fell out! Dear me, what am I doing wrong?
ema...@aol.com
not about 3/4 of the item looks beautiful and then there is a mes where
the pleats aren't regular or skipped.
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kath...@sunflower.com
correctly.
First it sounds like you have put your pleater needles in upside down.
It's easy to get confused. When you have removed the top pleater bar
and are placing the needles in the various slots, the point of the
needle needs to be pointing down towards the base of the pleater. A
bent needle or a needle with a blunt tip MUST be replaced by a better/
sharper needle.
Some people prefer to remove needles from the pleater that they are
not using for the current project. Just be sure to put them in a
little plastic bag or container where you can find them. Those little
darlings are expensive to replace. Since your pleater hasn't been used
much, I am assuming that you are using the correct needles for your
pleater. There is some difference in needles for various pleaters.
I have found that taping the edge of the fabric to a small (1/4-3/8")
dowel rod and then rolling the fabric around the dowel rod helps to
keep the fabric taut so it won't get caught in the brass rollers. The
fabric should be rolled around the dowel rod so the when you feed the
fabric into the pleater, it rolls off the top. That way you can see if
any wrinkles are forming.
If you are right handed and turning the handle away from you to pleat,
the extra fabric should be extended out of the left side of the
pleater. Only the fabric that is being gathered on the needles should
be fed through the pleater.
It is helpful to run a piece of waxed paper through your pleater once
in awhile. It helps the fabric to run through the pleater easier.
It is important that the fabric is fed into the pleater with the
straight of the grain. Once you are off grain it is so easy to get the
the fabric to want to split between 2 pleats or skip pleats all
together. The higher the natural fiber content of the fabric the less
trouble you usually have with split or skipped stitches.
I hope this helps you. I've been smocking for over 25 years and
remember the times early on when I spent the whole evening trying to
get my fabric through the pleater and not loose a thread out of a
needle or break a needle. I promise it does get easier the more you
practice. :o)
Nana Kathy
mrbo...@earthlink.net
On Sep 18, 11:08 am, ema...@aol.com wrote:
> I also could use help. Sometimes I am successful but more times than
> not about 3/4 of the item looks beautiful and then there is a mes where
> the pleats aren't regular or skipped.
>
Which pleater are you using? Is it possible that you are tugging on
the fabric which is rolled up on the dowel during these incidents?
Could it be you are allowing the fabric to build up on the needles
when you get to the end of the pleating task? Can you be a bit more
specific about when this problem happens?
Beth-Katherine Kaiman
www.smockingstore.com
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mrbo...@earthlink.net
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On Sep 18, 2007, at 3:22 PM, Sally wrote:
Hello,
I too had problems when I first started using my Amanda pleater. I
find that if the needle is "bent"it tends to fall out although I have
never had all of them fall out. I keep taking the fabric off the
needles VERY often as I pleat.
I hope this helps.
Sally
***
On Sep 18, 2007, at 8:12 PM, pg...@aol.com wrote:
Bless you Nana Kathy for such an excellent description for using the
pleater. I haven;t been smocking for some years now.. smocked
incessantly when my kids were little.. I even smocked Christmas
outfits for Barbara Bush's grand-daughters one Christmas. You
description at the end brought back memories when I was a young
smocker.. I had some similar nights of frustration ... Your kind
instructions should eliminate all that. My only comment is that I
used a much larger dowel.. I always used a broom handle (cut down to
size) to roll my fabric on.... Any will work though...
Happy Smocking !
Patty
On Sep 18, 2007, at 6:24 PM, Jean Rall wrote:
Thank you so much for this post! It helps me. I may give this another
try.
Jean Rall
On Sep 18, 2007, at 6:32 PM, Susan Scribner wrote:
I second everything you've suggested, Kathy! For me the most
important things to focus on are:
· running wax paper through your pleater before pleating
· using a dowel to wind your fabric on
· making sure you are feeding fabric into the pleater with the
straight of the grain (and I only use natural fabrics)
· remove needles you're not using
Other than that, I would suggest using some inexpensive 100% cotton
fabric to practice on. Is there a smocking group near you, or a
fabric store that might know (or employ) a smocker who could help?
Best of luck!
Susan
***
On Sep 18, 2007, at 5:01 PM, Suzanne wrote:
You will get beautiful pleats when using lightweight natural fabric,
such as
100% silk, cotton or cotton batiste. Polyester blend cottons do not
pleat
nicely and will cause skipped pleats. The lighter weight fabrics also
pull
easily off the needles. The key to not having the fabric caught in the
sides
is to pull it off before the needles get full. Hope this helps.
***
Onn Sep 18, 2007, at 4:36 PM, far...@aol.com wrote:
I would guess you might not have the screws tight enough to keep the
needles in place. Hope this helps. I have found pleating waxed paper
without thread in the needles makes the fabric slip easier.
***
On Sep 18, 2007, at 8:37 PM, skat...@juno.com wrote:
Hi . . and thank you so much for your considerate and very complete
info about the pleater! I had used it numerous times before, but it
was years ago and I had forgotten how. After I wrote that "Help!"
letter, I went back down to my sewing room, sat down, and just worked
and worked until I finally figured it out once again. It took at
least an hours or more, I think, and I felt pretty stupid . . why
couldn't I just REMEMBER, for heaven's sake! But I finally did get
those needles all in, and threaded, and then I rolled a piece of
fabric around the big dowel that I had obviously kept stored for just
that purpose, and put it through the pleater . . .SUCCESS!! And this
time, the needles DIDN'T fall out! (Also, this time, I just left them
IN! ) I do have a little wooden needle case where I keep them, and
it stays in the original box with the pleater. Now I just have to get
my new patterns (I tossed most of my old ones because I thought I
wouldn't be having any more granddaughters to sew for; but now I have
a new one!) and re-learn how to pleat an actual garment. That will be
fun!
Thank you so much, again!
Sincerely, Judy Rathke
Johnson, Sandra
I have been reading all of the hints about pleating, and they are all
great. My buddie and I have found that on some fabric that is real
soft,such as imperial broadcloth sometimes we need to spray starch the
upper part of the garment that is to be pleated, it makes the fabric
easier to keep straight.
Hope this helps.
Sandra
Beth-Katherine, Moderator
www.smockingstore.com
Hello,
I hope this helps.
Sally
***
Happy Smocking !
Patty
* running wax paper through your pleater before pleating
* using a dowel to wind your fabric on
* making sure you are feeding fabric into the pleater with the
straight of the grain (and I only use natural fabrics)
* remove needles you're not using