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?