Pleats

• Pleats are measured folds formed at the edge of a piece of fabric where they are secured by stitching.
• There are four main categories of pleats; flat pleats, partial pleats, accordion pleats and wrinkled pleats.
• Pleats are mainly used in skirts and dresses because of the movement they give to the fabric.

Gathering

• Gathering means stitching fabric in a line then pulling on the loose threads to gather the fabric close together. The amount of material required for gathering depends on the size of the stitches and how close you want the gathering to be.
• There are three types of gathering:

1. Single Edged Gathering: One side of the fabric is gathered. The fabric drops and spreads in graceful, unstructured folds, forming a floating lower edge.
2. Opposite Edge Gathering: The opposite sides of the fabric are made smaller by gathering. The freed fabric in between the gathered edges collects into variable, directed folds.
3. All Sides Gathering: A fabric shape is condensed into a smaller version of itself and becomes inflated between the gathers.

Chloe S/S 09

Corrie Neilson A/W 11

Viktor and Rolf S/S 06

Luella Polly

Matthew Williamson S/S 12

Alexander McQueen S/S 12

Knotting

• Tying the material in a knot to draw attention to that part of the figure.
• It is used as an embellishment on draped clothing.

Thakoon S/S 10

Diane Von Furstenberg S/S 10

Carolina Herrara S/S 10

Burberry Prorsum S/S 10

• Macrame is a form of textile making using knotting. Arab weavers created it in the 13th Century. They decorated the edges of hand-loomed fabrics into decorative fringes on bath towels, shawls and veils. Eleanor Amoroso is a London based designer who uses this technique.

 

Boning

• Boning is used to give support and body contouring to a garment.
• It is rigid strips of material used to maintain the shape desired for the garment. Each strip is called a bone or a stay. These were originally made out of whale bone or giant reeds. They are now made from plastic or in some cases metal.
• These strips are sewn vertically into sheaths sewn into the garment.
• Boning is used mainly in corsetry and in the making of under garments. In the 19th century corsets were worn to give women a natural hourglass shape. These corsets were laced up at the back to provide a tight fit.

19th Century Corset, 1891, Maison Leoty

Alexandre Herchcovitch, Donna Karan A/W 10

Antonio Berardi S/S 10

Comme Des Garcons S/S 12

Gareth Pugh S/S 12

Gareth Pugh A/W 12

Layering

Layering means layering fabrics on top of each other to:

• change the property of a fabric by layering a lighter fabric onto a heavier one.
• create volume.

Layering different pieces of clothing on top of other pieces also falls under this category. The clothes could have cut outs to show off the layers.

Chanel S/S 11

Christian Dior S/S 11

Julian MacDonald S/S 12

Monique Lhuillier S/S 12

Viktor and Rolf

Comme Des Garcons A/W 08

Godet

• A godet is a section of a circle set into a seam or a slash within a piece of fabric to expand the floating edge at that place.
• It develops rolling waves or folds as it spreads.

Etro S/S 12

Mary Katrantzou S/S 12

Zac Posen S/S 12

MinkPink

Tracy Reese S/S 09

Alexander McQueen A/W 10

Fraying

• Fraying means to wear away or top become tattered at the edges. Threads become loose along the edge of the fabric making it look worn.
• Lighter fabrics such as chiffon or organza fray easy. Heavier fabrics can be frayed using a needle by pulling out the threads to loosen them.
• Frayed shorts and cut-off t-shirts were very popular in the 1980's.

Chanel S/S 11

Marchesa A/W 11

Meadham Kirchhoff A/W 09

Rodarte S/S 11

Alexander McQueen A/W 11