Sewing Side Pleats and the yoke

The first step directed us to staystitch the neck and pleat the shoulders. Staystitching happens so much that it really deserved its own post. So now we'll handle the second part of the first instructions and #2 on the instructions. Pleats are used similarly to darts; to control fullness in a garment. There are two basic types of pleats side pleats and box pleats.

Box pleats are formed with a front box where each pleat faces opposite directions and the back folds face each other.

Box pleats can also be inverted with the box on the inside and the folds on the front. 

This time we will be sewing side pleats (knife pleats when they are pressed firmly). Pleats should be pressed in the direction they will lay in and stay stitched across the top.

Our directions tell us "To make pleats in forward shoulder edge of front, on inside, bring broken lines together. Stitch along broken lines. Press pleats away from center. Baste across raw edge." So basically we're sewing very short pleats on the inside of the front shoulder. If you're sewing pleats close together its best to pin and sew one then pin and sew the next as the pins will get in the way. Here is how the steps look when you're doing it.

Its easiest to pin and sew one at a time. This was done to demonstrate how they should look pinned

Sewn in place

Pressed outward and stitched.

Finished pleats from the right side. 

Don't forget to finish by pressing the pleats towards the outside and then again from the right side. Make sure to lay your iron just to the edge of the pleats so you don't smush the rest of the fabric. 

 

The next step is to sew the yoke pieces to the front. This isn't a traditional yoke but a yoke none the less. The directions tell us "with RIGHT sides together, stitch yoke front sections to forward shoulder edges of front. Press seam toward yoke."  They include a very important illustration 

Note the locations of the darts. On small pieces that are roughly the same size all the way around this is the only way to tell which way they should be sewn together.  In this case the notches are towards the back of the dress and away from the neck.

 The next pictures show how to sew on the yoke.

Yoke pinned, right (pretty) sides together and the seam lines are marked.

Sewn seam. Don't forget to clip the thread and press the seams. 

Seam pressed towards the yoke. 

Finished pleats and yoke. 

Next up is sewing the ties, sewing them to the back of the dress, and sewing darts.