Military Box Pleats

[Barb T]

I agree - I would sew it like a box pleated kilt, as you suggest, just with smaller pleats. I'm sure other people do it differently, but that would be my go-to solution. As you know from having made box pleated kilts before, you have to sew right in the very edge of the fold or you can't open up the pleat to fold both ways on either side of the stitching.

Personally, I wouldn't baste the length of each pleat - there's no reason that I can think of that would make this necessary, and you wind up with thread marks down every pleat when you press. I've made what amounts to a military box pleated kilt with 1 1/4" pleats (like the one in the third image below). The customer wanted narrow box pleats, but the sett was big enough that there was a significant underfold. I just stitched and basted as I would for any trad box pleated kilt. If the pleats were narrower, I think it would help to have an extra line of basting. I'll try to dig up a photo of the kilt - I think I took one before sending it off.



What weight tartan are you using? If you're using regimental weight, here's another basting technique you could use. I watched Elsie do this once with 18 oz tartan - she just started at the bottom and did a running stitch with one stitch in each pleat and pulled the pleats together like pearls on a string until each pleat butted up against the next. It worked because regimental weight is so stiff. I doubt it would work with medium weight fabric, but it could work, I suppose, with 16 oz if the pleats were narrow enough. I've never tried it.