The next chapter in my adventures with the pleating course concentrated on pleating seams for bishop style dresses.  This has become a concern lately because so many of us have pleaters that are no longer manufactured and therefore, the original needles are no longer available.  There are generic needles on the market but they bend and break at the slightest turn of the crank.  Plus they are very expensive!  My solution is try to bend the pleating rules (better than the needles!) a bit and think of a new plan.  In the previous post on this topic, read here, I described how to get a VERY tiny french seam.  Now to talk about getting that little seam through those rollers.

First, I rolled the fabric on the dowel, keeping each seam parallel to the dowel.

Next, I made sure the fabric was started through the rollers on grain.  My method is to turn the crank until there is a tiny opening between the teeth of the rollers.  Then I hold the fabric edge at the top and bottom of the pleating area and slide it into the rollers, keeping the  inserted edge taut.  I wiggle it in until I see that the grain is parallel to the rollers.  Then, with my left hand I spread my fingers and hold the fabric against the bottom roller to make sure it doesn’t slip out of place as I turn the crank.  If your opening is small enough, you should only have to turn it a little bit before the teeth grab the fabric and it is secure.  Make sure everything is on grain and start pleating.

Pleat slowly and stay on grain.  You might have to make small adjustments on each side of the fabric as it goes through the rollers and pull the pleats off the needles often.  Just turn one crank at a time, tug and pull as necessary to keep the grain parallel.   As the seam comes off the dowel and approaches the rollers it must be parallel or you will hear that dreaded crunch!

Push the seam into a groove on the top roller just before it goes through the pleater with a screwdriver.

If you work slowly, have patience, and stay on grain, the seams should come out of the pleater free from the pleater threads.  Your bishop will be bump free from the right side and the smocking will be continuous and GORGEOUS!

In Part 3 I will talk about pleating before seaming – what I like to call the release and re-thread method.  It is suitable for heavier fabrics and it guarantees no needle breaks!  It takes more time but in the end you will have a beautiful no bump bishop to show off all your beautiful smocking!