Sewing technique tutorial - Box Pleats

Box pleats are a very common form of gathering a skirt or a dress. Unlike regular pleats (which go either to the left or right) these are symmetrical on both sides. Actually one box pleat is a combination of two small pleats going in opposite directions. Today I'll show you a very easy way to sew clean box pleats. I have chosen this green fabric to illustrate because:
1. It has stripes of varying width so it will be easy to demonstrate how the pleating worked.
2. And much more important - This is such a cheerful color.
I'm also using a red thread to easily show my seams but please, please use a matching thread when sewing in real life. The seams are not supposed to show ;-)

1. Mark how wide you want the pleat to be.

2. Fold fabric such that the marks coincide on the right side.

3. Sew a 2-3 inch long seam over the marks ( wrong side)

4. Now you have a kind of tube on the wrong side of the fabric with point A at the seam and point B exactly opposite point A.

5. Press the fabric such that point A meets point B.

6. On the right side sew a rectangle ( minus top edge) such that the first seam falls in the center of of the rectangle. Press.
Box pleat....

And why did I suddenly need to share this tutorial with you....

Well I have it on good authority that you are going to see a tutorial very soon which is using them. Its always good to be prepared, isn't it?

Sewing shoulder straps/waist ties for jumpers etc

What do the above pictures have in common?
They are all using wide belts for shoulder ties/Waist ties. These belts are a very common way of defining waist or securing a sleeveless dress/jumper. I thought it would be a good idea to do a detailed tutorial on how to make these belts so I can refer to it every time I do a tutorial that involves these belts.

Here you go:

Cut two strips of fabric, even though you could make them as wide or narrow as you like, I usually find that 5 inches ( for a 2 inch wide strap) is a good width for a variety of projects. The length of the strip will depend on the usage and the size of the person for whom you're sewing.

1.

Fold the 4 inch wide strips lengthwise (right sides together). Sew along the raw ends along the long side.

2.

Turn the seam such that it comes to the center. Sew along 1 shorter end.

3.

Clip corners at the shorter end where you just sew a seam.

4.

 Thread a needle with doubled thread (2 ply). Now insert the needle through only 1 layer of the tube you had just made, close to the shorter seam. As the end of the thread comes near the stitch, insert the needle through this loop. That will lock the stitch.

5.

Now insert the needle in the tube. Once inside, try to bring the needle in thread out at the other end without piercing anywhere else in the tube.

6.

One the needle is out at the other end, start pulling the thread gently. You may have to push the fabric at the other end of the tube slightly but slowly it will start sliding within itself.

7.

Once you have pulled out the whole tube out, use a pencil to poke out the corners. Pull out the stitch you made with the needle and the thread. Iron.

The belts are ready. Now that we have made the straps, we might as well put them to good use, what say? Ready to make a dress with these?