Fork Pleats TUTORIAL - Perfectly Even Pleats (The FIRST Time!) + How to Calculate
Here's my tutorial about how to use the marvelous technique of fork pleating. Yes, you can make pleats using a fork!
***You'll learn how to fork pleat within the first 5 MINUTES of the video.
The rest of the video is about how to calculate pleats...These calculations with answer this question: How much fabric will I need for pleating?!
I find this to be the best trick IN THE WORLD!! Now, I literally pleat everything.
Hopefully, you'll not only leave this video with the trick of fork pleats, but also how to calculate them!
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Thanks for watching!
♡ Bella Mae
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Пікірлер: 169
my entire wardrobe is about to look like window blinds with all the pleats everywhere.
I've been sewing most of my life and I never knew this! I simply avoided pleats, but will now give them a go! Thank you for this most helpful info. BTW, your first little fork is actually a seafood fork, used for things like crab legs and lobster tails. Dessert forks are either just like salad forks (shorter tines than dinner forks) or they ARE salad forks, one and the same!
@BellaMaesDesigns
4 жыл бұрын
AH, that's wonderful to hear!! Thanks for this info! ;)
@frauleinbird
4 жыл бұрын
That's some super odd information considering that in (Central) Europe, there's no such thing as a salad fork, but the small ones are always dessert or cake forks. If a waiter gave me a small fork with my salad I'd think he'd made a mistake.
My mom "where did all the forks go" Me "...you might check the sewing room" XD Great tutorial! Thanks
@carolhanson3198
4 жыл бұрын
That's exactly what I was thinking. Lol
@BellaMaesDesigns
4 жыл бұрын
Haha, yes! SO true! ❤️
How The Little Mermaid sews her clothes in the castle. I love this! The tutorial really helps to prepare for the project and does a great job of instructing others on passing on the fundamentals so viewers can control how their own pleats look.
I've noticed that people either tend to naturally understand geometry-type math or algebra-type math, but are rarely equally comfortable with both. I'm definitely in the algebra camp, so dealing with the geometry of things like pleats and circle skirts is super tough for me. Your ratio method basically takes a geometry thing and translates it to algebra, more or less, and it's the first time I've been able to intuitively understand pleats. This is GOLD.
I honestly, truly cannot believe my luck right now! The project I'm working on, I need to get a peice that's about 99inches, onto a peice that's 33inches. It literally could not get more perfect than that! The sewing gods are on my side this day!
This is a fantastic way to explain the math of pleats, and I love the idea of using a fork! 😁 Plus a stick in the eye of the school counselor who actually told my daughter that she would never need to use algebra in the real world after high school. 🙄 All the people making pleated masks could have used this a while ago. They still can I suppose. 😊 Thank you for this tutorial!
@TracyLynnAP
4 жыл бұрын
I hope you reported this counselor to the school board.. I am sorry that you both had to deal with that type of idiocy from someone who you should be able to trust with your child's future.
@BellaMaesDesigns
4 жыл бұрын
I'm glad I was able to explain it well! And yes! Math definitely is used in sewing!
@NYCisland
2 жыл бұрын
Not algebra but arithmetic - multiplication. And yes school counselors say that garbage to girls all the time!
Such a cool way to pleat!! And, as a maths teacher I though your explanation of the maths of pleating was fantastic! very thorough
@rd6203
4 жыл бұрын
Oh my gosh! You could incorporate this into lessons! That would have kept me so much more interested... I never did well with numbers unless they were translated into something useful like this (I still don't and I actually use math in my job!)
@BellaMaesDesigns
4 жыл бұрын
Wow! That's quite the compliment! Thank you! ❤️
Thank you, thank you, thank you!! This came at the perfect time, as I was trying to figure this technique out to do the pleats on the hem of my bustle skirt. You my dear, are a life saver!
@BellaMaesDesigns
4 жыл бұрын
Ah, that's great!! I'm so glad! ❤️
What a clear and well explained tutorial! Thanks for a great video 🤗
@BellaMaesDesigns
4 жыл бұрын
Wonderful to hear! Thanks for watching! ❤️
Oh now I definitely need a fork collection for my studio - goes to rumage through kitchen drawer, this video made me smile so much, thank you.
@BellaMaesDesigns
4 жыл бұрын
Haha yes; fork collection it it! Thanks! ❤️
This is literally the best sewing lesson I have ever gotten! Thank you!
@BellaMaesDesigns
4 жыл бұрын
Aw! Thank you! ❤️
Found you from Bernadette and I’m so grateful you made this video. Pleats made me want to cry prior to this. I’m new to sewing and I feel like a failure a lot of the time. I really appreciate that you share your successes and failures in your videos. It helps me to remember that I’m not a failure and just have plenty of room to learn and grow!
My oh my at some points you resembled so much an old ad for forks it was so funny and cute :))
@BellaMaesDesigns
4 жыл бұрын
😂LOL
I was fascinated by your fork pleats! You were so happy making them!!
@BellaMaesDesigns
4 жыл бұрын
Ah, thanks! Yes, I do like making them!
Great job! I'm 68 and have been sewing most of my life and have never thought of pleating this way. I've always just made a few samples and figured it is usually 3 to 1. Lol but listening to you break it down was fantastic. Love your creations!
This fork method tutorial is so helpful!! Thank you! I loved all the different ways you explained thinking about pleating! Having the different explanations really helped my understanding of the methods/logic!
@BellaMaesDesigns
4 жыл бұрын
That's so wonderful to hear! Thanks for watching!
That was wonderful, has solved a problem immediately! So clear, no brain fry at all!
Thank you so much for this tutorial! I’m headed into a huge skirt from a king size duvet cover. Your pleat math helped a lot
omg this is the most magical video I've ever found. I literally shriek-giggled when you used the fork with the machine.
Thank you for this tutorial! I knew there was a fork method but I never bothered to try it or look up how, so I’m glad I clicked this video in my recommended - it’s super inspiring. Pleating a square piece of fabric for a skirt is sooo much more appealing than the headache of hemming a circle skirt or trying to gather fabric perfectly, and it also looks really pretty and neat! I also really enjoy the math part of sewing so it’s a win-win for me :)
@BellaMaesDesigns
4 жыл бұрын
Yay! So glad to hear that! ❤️
Very neat idea with the forks. The math is a bit confusing, but makes sense. Thanks for explaining all this out!!
@BellaMaesDesigns
4 жыл бұрын
Yes, it's truly a time saving technique! Haha, yes...math is always like that to me...makes sense, but confusing! 😂
Finally a way to pleat that I can understand!
@BellaMaesDesigns
4 жыл бұрын
Aw, yay!!
@bettievw
4 жыл бұрын
@@BellaMaesDesigns can I just say that you have become one of my favorite youtubers! I am a starter at sewing, and knowing how far you got at such a young age is incredibly inspiring. I'm planning on saving up to get some of your patterns and finally making something myself. You're awesome, thank you for doing what you do.
My husband wanted me to say this first that I'm using his phone. But I wanted to tell you I just discovered your page I'm a new to sewing, you know covid-19. And I just wanted to say that you will give the best explanation I've seen so far.
The way I think of stacked pleats in reverse is: my finished distance divided by the width of how wide the pleat will appear on the outside, eg. 20 inches divided by 1/4 inch = 80 pleats. Then I’ll minus the 20 inches from my width of total fabric I want to pleat down. The remaining is how deep the pleat will be. So I divide what’s left by the number of pleats (80 in this example) and divide that by 2 (because there’s three parts to a pleat and the 1/4 inch part has already been accounted for). The amount I’m left with is the width I would need my for to be. So for example: I have 100 inches of fabric I need to make into 20 inches. I want the pleats to appear to be 1/2 inch wide. 20 divided by 1/2 is 40. I’ll have 40 pleats Minus 20 from a hundred and you get 80 inches. This is what we need to disappear in the deep ness of the pleat. Divide 80 by the number of pleats: 40 and you get 2. 2 inches will disappear behind each 1/2 inch pleat. Divide 2 by 2 and you get 1 inch. Therefore you need a 1 inch fork.
@danielleaf9146
Жыл бұрын
Thank you , this is what I wanted to figure out but I am visual, I need to see a video to understand!
Thank you for those very easy instructions. The next time I need to do gathers I will be making fork pleats instead.
@BellaMaesDesigns
4 жыл бұрын
You're very welcome! Yay, I'm so glad!
Wow that was a very well done explanation. Once the thrift store are open I’m getting a few random sizes of forks.
@BellaMaesDesigns
4 жыл бұрын
Wonderful! So glad! True...not many thrift stores open right now!
First time I am watching your video.. it's very helpful for all sewing workers..n also I felt like you are a Disney character❤️..so nice your talk ... thanks👍 I'm from Kerala, India.
You really explained that well. Be proud of yourself!
@BellaMaesDesigns
4 жыл бұрын
Wonderful to hear! Thanks! ☺️
This is Kathy not Paul. Thank you so much for explaining the fork method. You left me at 3 to 1 but that's ok because now I am going to rip out a gathered shirt that I hate and pleat it.
@BellaMaesDesigns
4 жыл бұрын
You're welcome! Ha! Glad you were able to learn those at least! ❤️
@NYCisland
2 жыл бұрын
3:1 means for every one inch pleat you need three inches of fabric because it's three layers of fabric sewn on top of each other. Want a 1/2" pleat? 1/2" x 3 = 1-1/2" of fabric needed to make that one pleat. Different styles of pleats use a different ratio but it's the same idea.
Thank you so much! This was really informative, and now I need to buy more forks!
Informative and beautifully explained. Thank you
Thanks for the explanation. (BTW, I like your top)
@BellaMaesDesigns
4 жыл бұрын
Thank you! 😃
This video is such a good resource to come back to every time I need to even think about pleats - thank you for explaining it so thoroughly!💕
Thank you so much for this, pleats are one of my favourite ways to manipulate fabric but I have always struggled to get them even/figure out how much fabric I need, so this video is exactly what I need!
@BellaMaesDesigns
4 жыл бұрын
Yay, I'm so happy to hear that! ❤️
@emiolaodofin-jolayemi6259
4 жыл бұрын
😍
Wow. Grateful for the tricks so timely and useful. My fear of making pleats have been solved. Great teacher 👩🎓
Beautifully explained thank you
You, miss, are a great teacher. I learned more about pleats in this video than I did in fashion school 🙃 thanks for sharing this! Very valuable!!!
@BellaMaesDesigns
4 жыл бұрын
Aw, that's so nice of you to say! Thank you!
I,ve been sewing most of my life and I never knew this! I simply avoided pleats, but will now give them a go! Thank you for this most helpful info btw wear first little fork is actually a seafood fork, used for things like crab legs and lobster tails. Dessert forks are either just like...
I've been procrastinating on pleating my walking skirt, and then I remembered this video existed, and stopped that procrastinating! Thank you.
Explained beautifully thank you
I have to say this is an ace tutorial!😁 Box pleating with a fork!!! Before I even got to the next part of the video I went out grabbed the apron I was working on and did the pleating. I am so excited about how it turned out! I can't wait to give this as a Christmas present to my coworker!!! Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge. 💖
Is that a dress your wearing , I love this idea and am showing my daughter right now! Love those colors together and your hair is adorable!
Bork bork bork! Forkety-floopity mit de pleats! Thank you so much! I have my first pleating project staring me dead in the face and now I feel much better and able to handle it!
finally, a clear explanation! Thank you
@BellaMaesDesigns
4 жыл бұрын
Yay, glad to hear! ❤️
Thank you! This is brilliant and very useful, so clear!
@BellaMaesDesigns
4 жыл бұрын
So wonderful to hear! ❤️
@choochube3933
4 жыл бұрын
@@BellaMaesDesigns please continue making awesome videos! Lots of love from London ❤
No, your brain is not fried, your brain is marvelous and so is your presentation. You taught this very well. Thank you.
@BellaMaesDesigns
4 жыл бұрын
Aw, well that’s very kind of you to say! ❤️
Wow this is great information! I always cheated pleats by pinning at each end and then dividing by 2 over and over until my fabric fits. It was functional but you just made the math a breeze! Thank you so much!!
This was an excellent explanation of pleats and an excellent demonstration.
Great video on pleats. I make Barbie clothes, and would you believe, I found a miniature fork that's normally used for pickles and that sort of thing, and it worked. I made 4 skirts last night for my site, and voila! Easy, just like you promised.
Brilliant video!
Wow! A wonderful tutorial----I was looking for simple pleats for bottom of denim skirt ---others were soooo confusing as they did the calculating first----boring! I will be fork pleating other items I am sure! Thanks so much!
Merry Christmas Eve Bella Mae. I loved this tutorial. My 11 year old granddaughter is excited to create a pleated plaid wool skirt. We talked about the plan today and looked at how we would create the pleats for this skirt. Your fork idea is awesome and your ratio conversation was a lot of fun and made the whole thing clear for me (at least in my head...the rubber will hit the road when we cut and sew the fabric). I was looking for a way that we could use the full length of the fabric to create as full a skirt as possible and you've given that to me. We can use a serving fork (the same one we will use for serving the turkey tomorrow) and stack the pleats. I think it will be beautiful. We are jumping into this pleating paradise on Boxing Day. Thank-you.
if my math class taught ratios like this i might of not hated them
@BellaMaesDesigns
4 жыл бұрын
😂 Haha! That's quite the compliment! ❤️
This is awesome.
This is such a wonderful video!! Yes! Pleats make me so happy and your video is making me want to work with them soon.
This is wonderful. I must say however, that this vid proves the metric system to be so much easier!
Very well presented! I'm good at math, but only in the abstract. Word problems and practical applications have always stumped me, lol. Your visuals and examples were super clear and helpful. I feel like this is the perfect starting point for extrapolating any pleating calculation. I got really excited when you even mentioned working the calculation in reverse. Yes, I'm a nerd.
Thank you so much, This is very useful
@BellaMaesDesigns
4 жыл бұрын
Yay! So wonderful to hear! Thanks for watching! ❤️
Thank you very much for this video! I found it very interesting and it helped me to understand how pleats work
😭 Oh my god, I have the hardest time with pleats and this has made my life so much more wonderful and easy. Thank you!! You kind and sweet angel!! ❤️😭❤️❤️
@BellaMaesDesigns
4 жыл бұрын
That's wonderful to hear! ❤️
amazing!!!! Thanks!!!
Thank you!!
That is great to know. Thank you.
It works! I've done it :)
@BellaMaesDesigns
4 жыл бұрын
Yay!!
You just made my life so easy and you look like a Disney princess 😊
Great video!! MEGA clear! Thank you!❤️
Thank you so much! I've watched so many videos on pleating/gathering methods, because of a project I'm working on, and I was so frazzled that I just put said project on the back burner. That was months ago! Now, I think I'll have a much easier time of it! I'm super excited to find out!! Officially subscribing. ^_^
@BellaMaesDesigns
4 жыл бұрын
Ah, that’s wonderful you hear!!
Beautiful. 👌💕
Thankyou ❤
Clear and concise thanks
Oh, I wish I had known this method in my Civil War reenacting days! Lots, and lots of pleats in those skirts!
Thank you for a great video, you explained it so well!
Thank you for sharing this great technique🎀 love it
OMG now I don't have to buy a fancy pleatter. Great tutorial
@BellaMaesDesigns
4 жыл бұрын
Yes! No expensive tools here!
Thank you for this tutorial lol I spent 7 years at collage studying fashion designing and pattern making but poets were never ever explained this well I love pleats but have avoided them due to always getting them wrong 😹😹😹 now with all the different styles of forks that I have collected over the years due to different types of dinner parties I use to hold I can have a ball with pleats umm need to finished converting the shed into my sewing room before I can tackle pleats full on 😹😹😹😹
Well Done & Explained Sweet Lady.. Well Said.. I am so glad you made this video- I Love the uniformity & how you can make almost everything pleated.. Gloriously Pleated.. My life should be so perfectly finished "}..
@BellaMaesDesigns
4 жыл бұрын
Aw, thank you! ❤️
Ooo such a great method.
My brain is fried! But it's easy-up, not hard-over like usual when I deal with mathy stuff. I'm horrible at bringing Theory & Practice together!
@BellaMaesDesigns
4 жыл бұрын
Ah, sorry to hear that! Hopefully after some practical use of this, it'll start making a bit more sense!
Thank you. This is one of those tips that is so stupid simple it makes me so mad like why has this not been common sewing knowledge?
Nice!
Brilliant! New subscriber ! 🦋🦋🦋💌
I love math! The parts ratios made the most sense to me 😊
This is so helpful! Im working on a black Masquerade gown and I might try this method for all the pleated ruffles that will trim the skirt and neckline. Does this method work on tulle or organza too?
Where has this been my whole life? I adore how you make them easy, but give us the foundation(math) to make it work. Thank you.
I
Amazing! My brain is overwhelmed! Ha ha, you just said you hope our brains aren't fried, lol! It was a very good explanation (I admit I listened to the math parts twice!), It's just something I never thought much about so I had no idea how much math is involved! Wow! And thank you!
I love your "ladybug" top! I had one similar to this and wore it to death. (Of the fabric, not mine. 😜) I just dyed a shirt red and think it's a bit plain, maybe i will do some dots on it.. 🤔
huh? 🤔 just kidding. thank you so much! i love pleats, and will definitely refer back to this video often.
There is a behind the scenes Christian dior video where they create a plissé dress by hand stitching down the pleats. I was wondering if you could explain how pleats can be stitched down by hand and what type of stitch should be used.
Thanks you ver much. Very clear explanation, but surely I still will look and listen more times. It is very helpful. I posted also some words on Instagram. :) it really is a great tutorial. Ines voets
What kind of witchcraft is this?? No measuring? No pins?? Complete magic. No...wait...not wizardry, just math. Sometimes it seems like the same thing. Thanks for showing this technique. It makes so much sense and will make my next pleating project much more enjoyable to do. Take care of you!
Can you do a calculation video for smocking techniques?
مرحبا بك في مراكش بالمغرب عملك راءع
What if you need 5 pleats. The first pleat is a 2 inch box pleat, and two 2-inch regular pleats, and two 1 inch pleats. How is it calculated? TIA
U r so pretty sister😍
I guess I’ll need a pitchfork, I’m doing a kilt lol ... your Bonnie
Wow I never knew it was so simple. I always messed up my calculations
Would have never occurred to me to do that in the sewing machine as you are sewing
@BellaMaesDesigns
4 жыл бұрын
I know right?! It makes it so fast!
Like dress and suggestion for your website site, you update with pink borders and flowers. Front page of website should have your KZread banner and comments the (button) highlight light pink.