cartridge pleating

Otherwise known as the method that uses up massive amounts of fabric (thus helping the weaving industry), cartridge pleating is kind of fun on the hand sewing scale.  Fun because once you figure out your pattern of pleats, you can just go to town.

I made the skirt out of 20 yards of india cotton.  I followed the instructions on this website. http://www.reconstructinghistory.com/blog/how-to-cartridge-pleating

I really liked the formula for figuring out how many yards of fabric you needed.

There are others with similar information, I just liked how this one was laid out for me.

It *only* took a couple of evenings to do once the fabric had been washed and pressed.  Some variations of instructions recommend adding a layer of felt or thicker fabric at the top hem (where you are making the pleat).  The idea is to sandwich it between the fold of the skirt fabric so that you have a thicker and stiffer bit right at the hips.  I think I'll try that with the Italian dress I'm making.  I'm guessing (an educated guess) that it will make me use less fabric which is awesome as I only have 10 yards to begin with...

 So one of the websites called cartridge pleating instant hips.  Here is the skirt on Mrs.Weasley.  I can't wait to see it on me in a corset...

The lovely partlet btw, is a find from the costumer's sale.

As you can see it hangs just below my corded petticoat, so I won't have to worry about short skirts!  I'm also hoping to use this combination under my Victorian work dress...  We'll have to see what the costume lords at Dicken's say...