Shaping: darts, gathers and pleats
Turning flat fabric into a shape.
- Darts give precise, local shaping, often at the bust.
- Gathers: lengthen to basting stitch and pull the bobbin threads.
- A knife pleat is fabric folded over and back in a Z. Knife pleats have a direction.
- A box pleat is two equal folds facing away from each other.
- An inverted box pleat is what a box pleat looks like from behind.
Watch
Episode 6: Pleats and Gathers | The Joi of Sewing - Sewing Basics YouTube Series (9:09)
By Baby Lock USA & Canada Sewing Machines · Open on YouTube
Chosen from its title and channel: a 9-minute video from Baby Lock USA & Canada Sewing Machines on the same topic as this guide. Embedded from YouTube with credit; we don't host it. It only loads when you press play.
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Sources
All checked 1 November 2026. We read these; we did not test the products ourselves.