ribbon pleating question

[Nina58]

How is the ribbon pleating done? Is it done with sticky tape? Is that strong enough to hold it down? I've looked in the resource section and can only find the ribbon pleats done with staples. Thanks

[Barbara Jay]

Are you using ready made pleated ribbon or making it?
If it is ready made then the Scor-Tape will hold it fine

If you are making pleated ribbon it won't work well. The tape will only hold the back part of the ribbon..
I have a "Perfect Pleater" from my sewing days. It is a board with slates like miniature window blinds. You fit the ribbon or fabric under the slots and press it with a iron to set the pleats.
If I use that I need to sew down the center of the pleated ribbon strip before I attach it .
You could hand pleat it and then iron the strip, but it is tedious.
In either case the hand pleated ribbon really needs to be sewn down the center if you want the pleats to lay flat .

Here is a link to the Perfect Pleater

Original Perfect Pleater™ | Clotilde
Hope this helps

[sharilea]

Good advise Barbara Jay. I tried randomly folding my ribbon over sticky strip/scor tape and it holds for a couple of days and then starts popping up. It needs to be sewn down the center like you said.

I have never heard of the Perfect Pleater. Looks really neat. I may have to order one of them! I'll have to wait.....Canada Post is on strike/lockout right now so we have no mail delivery in the entire country! But, it should get resolved by next week. Thanks for sharing this nifty tool idea!

[Beate]

We have two tutorials for that in our resource section.

Ruffled Ribbon Border

Ruffled Ribbon

[lharnish]

That Perfect Pleat tool looks awesome. Here's the tutorial I followed and did with my sewing machine. It was quite easy and took about 5 minutes to make one piece for one card.

YouTube - ‪Pleated Ribbon Tut!!‬‏

Hope this helps.

[Barbara Jay]

As I said I have the Perfect Pleater from my sewing days, so I didn't invest in it just for cards

However, a person needs to consider how much pleated ribbon will you want in the future. If you think you will use it a lot it is a great tool! It you only want an occasional piece of pleated ribbon then the video to make it on your sewing machine or the SCS video for pleated ribbon would be more cost effective.
The Perfect Pleater is fabulous , but just for a few pieces of pleated ribbon it is quite costly.

I always weight the cost vs the use I will get from a product before I buy it.:-)

[lharnish]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Barbara Jay

I always weight the cost vs the use I will get from a product before I buy it.:-)

Ah, a kindred spirit. I tend to think this way too. I've only been into cardmaking for a little over a year so I'm learning what some of the past fads are and how long they've lasted or not lasted. Maybe pleated ribbon is a fad that won't last ... or it might. I'm glad to be able to make use of tools I already had in my craft room from other hobbies I've enjoyed over the years. I've tole painted, knitted, crocheted, quilled, sewed, quilted, and a number of other crafts over the years.

[lharnish]

I happened to find a link on how to make your own homemade pleater board with tinfoil, cardboard and duct tape. I might give this a try and see if it is any easier than the sewing machine version. It will probably end up being a half a dozen of one and six of another though LOL!

Sewing Tip - Pleater Board - how to make your own

Here's another one that is similar but it has pictures :-)

http://www.burdastyle.com/techniques...-pleater-board

And another one with pictures and made with interfacing:

http://tornangel012.blogspot.com/201...board-diy