Figured out a trick for pleating after watching a tailor in Portland

I was in Portland last month visiting my sister and we walked past this little tailor shop. The old guy inside was hand-pleating a skirt and I watched him for maybe 10 minutes through the window. He used a simple ruler and a spray bottle of water to set the creases before ironing. I tried it on a linen dress I was making and the pleats came out way sharper than before. The water helps hold the fold so you don't have to pin every 2 inches. Has anyone else used this method or do you just steam and press?

2 comments

2 Comments

shah.ben1mo agoMost Upvoted

My pleats look more like accidental origami than tailoring, so this sounds like magic to me. Might try it, but I'll probably just end up with a damp, wrinkly mess and a guilty spray bottle.

gibson.robert1mo ago

Accidental origami" is great, I'm stealing that. I once tried to steam a shirt over a boiling pot of water and ended up with a wrinkled, soggy mess that smelled like pasta.