Pleating Plus!

Many times I have posted my pleater in action. I started out my pleating on Miss Lily's dress today fully thinking you have seen it enough and need no more. Then I heard that awful crunch sound. It is the nasty noise of an expensive needle breaking and oo, how I hate that sound. So I thought I would post about how I fixed it. I removed the bar first. Then I pulled out the broken needle. I rethreaded a new pleater needle with the broken needle's thread. Sometimes I am able to rethread the needle back into the fabric but the fabric was not cooperating. Plan B is to replace the needle into its slot and bypass the skipped pleats. I had to do some jiggling to get the needle properly seated. Once there the bar went back on and I was able to finish pleating the dress. The skipped pleats fall right in line like soldiers to the pleats above and below so there is no problem with counting and accuracy. I did pleat VERY VERY slowly. Bishop dresses generally have french seams and the bulk of the seam can make the pleater balk. It did. The other three seams went OK thank goodness. I was seeing more broken needles as I came up to them but the made there way thru the pleater. Yippee!

Once the bishop is pleated it needs to be blocked on a neckline blocking guide. These are usually provided with the pattern. This was and I traced it off and pinned it to the blocking board. Then the pleated bishop was arranged on the board with sleeve seams matching the lines on the board etc. Once on the board, my method is to spray the pleat area till wet with spray starch and leave it overnight to dry.
So here it sits. Blocking smocking is a rather controversial issue. There are many who don't do it at all. I like to do it. I like being able to "train" my pleats before I start smocking. It's akin to basting. For years you couldn't pay me to do it and I sewed pretty well. Now you can't pay me not to do it. It just gives more control and that is how I feel about the blocking. So tomorrow I will count my pleats and then begin stitching. I am excited.

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I have a new project in the que and actually started. Since Lily''s jacket is all done except for more handwork, and all I have in the cue is handwork, it was time to start another "machine" project. I spent some time today going thru patterns and found this beauty that I have been aching to try for a while.
I am going to do View B. I really like this design. There will be no muslin. After measuring the pattern I know there will be plenty of room for moi. So I dove into the cutting and will be able to start maybe tomorrow. It will be made in the green linen I just bought. I may do some hem stitching, not sure yet. I had a Vogue blouse almost just like this some years back and I loved it. I wore it till I wore it out. Hopefully this reincarnation will make me just as happy.