Something that occurs as a feature more than often flaunted in shows of style, pleats are rather wonderful ways of functionality spreading out through the fabrics in which they are employed. Be it the specific folds of fashion or the greater spans of lifestyle, the layers of fabric in which pleats find self expression are rather diverse and in such iterations that are dutifully derived as well. Stylistic is as common an attribute that seems to capture the ‘spirit’ of pleating as is the utilitarianism of its nature.
Formed by doubling sections of fabric such that fall back upon itself, pleats are rendered the essence of being embedded in the material by some kind of securing. Even when they generally are made to hold shape and place through pressing, ironing or creasing, techniques still exist to ensure that pleats can be maintained even in a free flowing character. Retaining their appeal and maintaining the advantage in serving such purposes are pleats that are worked out as different styles of expressing the types and varieties of their tailoring. Exploring here some such pleated presentations that stand true to their expectations of curating functional style-
Accordion Pleats
These pleats seem exactly what they sound like, imitating the look of an accordion indeed. Probably the narrowest types of pleats typically shaping lighter garments, characterised as it is by the flowy nature of prominent feminineness, the accordion assertion is almost exclusive an expression of elegance encountered along the body of skirts, typically longer ones. The pleats themselves are tightly and evenly folded in alternating raised and recessed forms and are generally heat set in sharp creases so that the skirt silhouette displays drama of a sashaying attribute.
Everything about an accordion pleat is accurate or symmetrical that is to say, in that each of the folds assert in exactly equal lengths of their extending throughout the entirety of the garment. The tight pleating is what allows the garment to expand shape upon movement, endowing upon the wearer such effect of the aesthetics that is as appealing in its slimming character as in its show of fullness.
The considerably larger count of the pleats arising as characteristic of its narrower, tighter style is what dresses also accordion pleated skirts in a zig zag flare towards their bottom. Standing up to this aspect of its identity as well would be these pleats that are also, albeit less commonly known as sunburst pleats or fan pleats. Also lesser sported but even greater in their holding of drama would be accordion pleated collars and the somewhat subtler accordion dress sleeves that could present fun avenues for working this style into your fashion statement.
Knife Pleats
Knife pleats are most commonly identified with accordion pleats, with the latter indeed being some interpretation of the former. The differences though are more than evident though in their visage, at least in the size of the pleats if not for anything else. Knife pleats however all face the same direction opposed to accordion pleats that in fact are directed in opposite sides of each other.
Knife pleats are one of the most common styles and types of pleats even when the technique of their pleating is not so simple. Asymmetrical in themselves, in that one side of them is always longer than the other, knife pleats therefore assume a flat faced appearance of what identifies also as flat pleats. Occurring in a smooth line and hence in extreme neatness, knife pleats are called so because of their sharpness in manifestation, quite like the edges of a knife itself.
Box Pleats
Seems like all kinds and types of pleats are somehow related one with the other. So while accordion pleats tend close to knife pleats, knife pleats tend closer to box pleats instead. All of them tend to be much identical in their alluding, which has them basically respond to calls of whatever they emulate indeed. No wonder then box pleats are called so because they produce an image of boxes seating upon the garment where they are made to rest.
Box pleats basically are knife pleats done back to back. Two knife pleats facing away from each other create a raised section to work in the boxed reference within the world of pleats, which interestingly can also be worked to ‘box in’ the bulk instead in creating another type of pleat very obviously invoked as an inverted box reference.
Full length and rectangular in assertion, box pleats are prominent enough to be used as a single, standalone element while also functioning well as part of a series. Versatile also in their range and area of attending, that encompasses everything from shirts and skirts to even curtains and the like, box pleats even further the extent of their identifying by emerging in stacked or double versions of their being. Boxed pleats also resonate in greater functionality since they are not very stylistic manners of wearing even though they can indeed be worked in such intent of the fashionable.
Rolled Pleats
Quite a diversion from the blatant assertion of many a flat pleats of whether the knife or box kind are the rolled pleats that are ‘mellower’ in their make. Devoid of the sharp character and crisp curation of the flat technique in pleating, rolled pleats emerge then as a definite style that encompass a range of styles in that capacity.
To be precise, rolled pleats occur as pleats that are unpressed and are exact opposites therefore of the pressed flat pleats. They require also a larger amount of fabric to create the rounded design and are hence always bulky versions of that positing. Rolled pleats are worked out indeed by rolling a piece of the fabric into a tube, impressioning an unmistakable assertion of a ‘hollow’ that runs the entire length of the fabric. It would be feminine styles again of skirts and dresses upon which rolled pleats are used with the puffy, even bouncy presentation conjuring up visions in fullness.
Honeycomb Pleat
Honeycombs of the real world envisioning might be flat or at best slightly curved identities in revealing. But in their incorporation within the fashion dynamics, they assume more rounded an assertion of the pleats. Essentially brimming with the flounces of flair and exclusively stylistic then, it strikes as a pleasant surprise that honeycomb pleats serve as the base for the sartorial identity of smocking to find expression from.
As narrower tubes pleated into and upon the fabric, the vision strikes in a honeycomb like pattern of which oozes oodles of style and drama indeed. The folds are gathered as smaller rolls of fabric that emerges in a decorative show across the entire span of its premises. Needless to say honeycomb pleats imbues garments with a dressier style in arousing the sensational sentiment of what fashion can deliver in all its custom make.
Kick Pleats
Definite in their inverted identity but more dynamic in the mode of working would be kick pleats that can be interpreted in terms of the boxed or the knived styles of pleating. They generally are allowed for in tighter garments to facilitate the scope of movement, particularly in fitting skirts but also in coats along their back. They are typically shorter as well than other types of pleats and mainly functional as well, leading up from the bottom of the hem to ensure that the garment sits upon the body well enough even when widing out at the edges to afford mobility.
Fluted Pleats
How self assuming can a pleat get that even calls for a specific device to unfurl the characteristic charm of its being? Consider the fluted style in pleating and you might well discover the distinction that this fore of clothing calls for- though in some ambiguity indeed. Because while fluted pleats generally are worked out with something called a fluter in action, these tiny pretties can be derived in pretty much ‘ordinary’ workings as well.
Irrespective of the manner in which they come to life, fluted pleats still retain their distinctive charm. In fact in their very identity that emerges as fluting, these very small pleats of either rounded or pressed character are much remarkable. The purpose of their use is also somewhat more certain since they generally occur as trimmings upon clothes. Not to mention the process which is as methodical as well and fluted pleats are quite a standout definition in their occurring.
Cartridge Pleats
Cartridge pleats might seem like quite a modern day identity in its name but it in fact bears an importance that occurs as more historical in its particular prevalence during the 15th and 16th centuries. So essentially sewn in within the requirements of fashion at the time that it also acquired special reference as gauging. The premise of their origin being that they served to help incorporate a large amount of fabric into smaller waistbands- something that prevailed as custom indeed in female wear of those ‘constricted’ centuries.
Gauge or cartridge pleats also is an alluding to fuller fancies of fashion, that hinged on the narrowest possible waists that allured in their dainty dimensions. Availed out of some irony then, sews of the cartridged style in pleats need to occur in careful considerations of creating tiny folds that does the job of holding up all that fabric without spewing an unsightly sight of uneven gathers.
