Pleats

The Main Families of Pleats

Pleat vocabulary is precise because each type folds the same cloth a different way. Accordion pleats are the most basic form, a series of permanent folds of equal width in alternating opposite directions; when pressed flat in one direction, accordion pleats become knife pleats, and accordion pleats are rarely used in dressmaking but are used to make folding fans. Knife pleats serve basic gathering purposes and form a smooth line rather than springing away from the seam, with a 3 to 1 ratio in which three inches of fabric create one inch of finished pleat, recognizable by the way they overlap in the seam. Box pleats are knife pleats back-to-back, tend to spring out from the waistline, share the 3 to 1 ratio, and may be stacked to form stacked box pleats with more fullness at a 5 to 1 ratio and a bulkier seam; inverted box pleats have the box on the inside rather than the outside.

Other types solve specific problems. Cartridge pleats gather much fabric into a small waistband or armscye without bulk at the seam, the top of each pleat whip stitched on, so the skirt or sleeve springs out freely. Fluted pleats are very small, rounded or pressed pleats used as trimmings, named for their resemblance to a pan flute. Fortuny pleats are crisp pleats set in silk by designer Mariano Fortuny in the early 20th century using a secret process still not understood. Honeycomb pleats are narrow, rolled pleats used as a foundation for smocking, organ pleats are parallel rows of softly rounded pleats resembling pipe organ pipes, and rolled pleats create tubular pleats running the length of the fabric.

Pleats at Work in Garments

Modern clothing features pleats for practical reasons, to provide freedom of movement, as well as for purely stylistic reasons. Shirts and blouses typically have pleats on the back to provide freedom of movement and on the arm where the sleeve tapers to meet the cuff; the standard men's shirt has a box pleat in the center of the back just below the shoulder, or alternately one simple pleat on each side of the back. Jackets designed for active outdoor wear frequently have pleats, usually inverted box pleats, to allow freedom of movement, and Norfolk jackets have double-ended inverted box pleats at the chest and back. In each case the fold is stored ease: flat and tidy while the wearer is still, opening the moment shoulders or arms reach forward.

Skirts, dresses and kilts include pleats of various sorts to add fullness from the waist or hips, or at the hem, to allow freedom of movement or achieve design effects, and one or more kick pleats may be set near the hem of a straight skirt to allow the wearer to walk comfortably while preserving the narrow style line. Modern kilts may be made with either box pleats or knife pleats, pleated to the stripe or pleated to the sett. Trousers carry pleats just below the waistband on the front in many formal and casual styles: there may be one, two, three or no pleats, facing either direction — reverse pleats when they open toward the pockets, forward pleats when they open toward the zipper — while utilitarian styles such as jeans and cargo pants are flat-front. Even pockets use the principle: a bellows pocket is a patch pocket with an inset box pleat that lets the pocket expand when filled, typical of cargo pants, safari jackets and other utilitarian garments.