Okuzeka
Fashion & Textiles vocabulary · Sewing & Construction

Pleat

Meaning in fashion & textiles, with examples

/pliːt/nounCommon term

In fashion & textiles, pleat means: A fold of fabric pressed or stitched in place to add fullness or shape, as in a pleated skirt or pleated trousers.

In Turkish: pli, pile

How it is used

Types include knife pleats, box pleats, inverted pleats and permanent heat-set pleats. Trousers can have single or double front pleats. In fit comments, people ask to add, remove, deepen or stitch down a pleat.

Example sentences

  1. The skirt has an inverted pleat at the centre back for walking ease.

  2. Make the front pleats deeper to give the trousers a more relaxed shape.

Common collocations

  • box pleat
  • knife pleat
  • pleated skirt
  • front pleat
  • permanent pleats
  • dartA narrow, pointed fold of fabric stitched on the inside of a garment to shape it around curves such as the bust, waist or hips.
  • gatherTo pull fabric into small, soft folds by sewing long stitches and drawing up the thread, so a wide piece fits into a shorter one.
  • easeThe extra room added to body measurements in a pattern so that the wearer can move, breathe and sit comfortably, or to create a looser style.
  • silhouetteThe overall outline or shape of a garment or outfit on the body, such as A-line, straight, fitted or oversized.

More terms: Sewing & Construction

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