A Perfect Row of Pleats

By Elizabeth M.

 Dear Venturers,

Good evening! Today I was finishing up my 18th. Century cap and created a new tool...


If you sew and are ever on the internet, the you’ve probably been bombarded with the newest sewing hack of using a fork to make perfectly uniform knife pleats. So I gave in one day and tried it. The result was BEAUTIFUL! I love to see a neat row of pleats all looking identical. It’s just such a pretty sight, and far outweighs gathering. So as I was making my cap, I reached for the fork that I now keep in my sewing kit (😁), but I didn’t want pleats that large. I decided that I needed a smaller fork to make a smaller pleat. And so, my newest creation was born... I tried meshing the words pleat and fork, but all I could come up with was, “pork”, and, “fleat”... or well...


I used round nose pliers and some jewelry wire that I have. It’s  essentially a smaller sized fork with only two points (because it’s for pleats and not food...). To make the shape, I made a V-shape out of the wire. Then I bent the bottom halves of the wire ends outwards (away from each other), and then downwards (but at a different point that was farther out from the first bend). The I twisted the top part and created a loop out of the twisted part. This part help you turn the fabric over more easily. 






“I am no bird, and no net ensnares me.”

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