Tutorial: How to Make Pretty Paper Pleats

There is nothing more lovely than adding dimension and texture to your projects.  I've always loved the look of pleated paper and it is perfect for adding both texture and dimension.  Paper pleats also lends itself wonderfully to shabby chic projects.

Making paper pleats is very easy.  You can sew by hand, or with the WeR Stitch Happy sewing machine.  I love this sewing machine because it is made for stitching on paper.  There is a little plug you can take out to stick your vacuum attachment in and suck out all the paper pieces. If you sew on a regular sewing machine, those little pierced pieces of paper get stuck in the bottom of your machine and gunk it up.

This is an example of the box pleat, inked with chalk ink.  I think it added the perfect amount of shabby chic elegance
to this Cape Cod wedding layout.  

Let's get right to this tutorial!

1. Cut It Start by cutting a strip of 12" paper to a width of 1.5 to 2 inches.  You want enough room that you will be able to have plenty of room to sew.

2. Score It Decide which type of pleat you want to make.  I call my two different versions the "basic pleat" and the "box pleat."  Then once you have decided, follow these scoring guidelines.  These are just the measurements that I've found helpful.  Once you get a feel for the process, experiment with measurements.

Box Pleat: 
The box pleat will be alternating 1/2 inch sections and 3/4 inch sections with 1/4 inch sections between each.  You'll start at the 1/2 inch mark, then go 1/4 inch from there, then over 3/4 inch from there, then 1/4 inch, then 1/2 inch and so on until you run out of paper.  Your last score line should be at 11 3/4 inches.
Here are the measurement markings to score at on your board for the box pleat:
1/2; 3/4; 1 1/4; 1 1/2; 2 1/4; 2 1/2; 3; 3 1/4; 4; 4 1/4; 4; 3/4; 5; 5 3/4; 6; 6 1/2; 6 3/4; 7 1/2; 7 3/4; 8 1/4; 8 1/2; 9 1/4; 9 1/2; 10; 10 1/4; 11; 11 1/4; 11 3/4

Basic Pleat:
The basic pleat is much easier to keep track of.  Start off by marking at the 1/2 inch then mark 1/4 from there (so at the 3/4 inch mark).  Alternate between 1/2 inch and 1/4 inch until you run out of paper.

3. Fold It Fold on the scoring lines, following how I do it in my tutorial video (below).  The 1/4 inch sections is what is used to create the dimension.


4. Ink It If you want to ink your pleats, now is the time to do it.  You can use Tim Holtz Distress Ink or Prima's Fluid chalk ink edgers, or whatever you have in your stash.

6. Add Length If you need to add additional strips to make the pleat longer for your project, using a little glue runner will help you hold it together until you've sewn the strip.  Or, if you have any excess folds that don't end cleanly, just snip them off with a pair of sharp scissors.

5. Sew It Now it's time to sew!  If you are doing it by hand, get out a self healing mat or a foam mat and a paper piercer.  If you are using your sewing machine, it will make the process faster.  I've done my paper pleats both ways.  I find that the time it takes to do it by hand is well worth it though.

6. Use It Adhere to your project with some super tacky double-sided tape, glue runner or art medium.  Dress it up with some pretty enamel dots or jewels too.  The possibilities are endless!

Here is a project I created using the box pleat I made in this tutorial.  You can add these paper pleats to any project
to give it dimension and texture.

I hope you enjoyed this quick tutorial!  Comment below with links to your own projects.  I'd love to see what you do with your paper pleats!

Here is an example of a basic pleat used vertically on a scrapbook layout. This pleat just adds so much
to this simple metallic layout.  

Happy Crafting!
Adrienne