Pleated Trim to Jazz up Your Victorian Neckline

Ribbon Puffs
Pleated Ribbon Puffs for Victorian Necklines

Want to add pizazz to your Victorian dresses? Well, pleated trim is a fantastic way to go. You can cut strips of your dress fabric or use ribbon. Fold it, pleat it, gather it, or ruche it to make trim that complements your gown perfectly and adds that “Pop!” we all want from the historical gowns we make.

A few weeks ago I came across an absolutely fantastic dress at the Western Reserve Historical Society’s Tying the Knot exhibit. You’ve probably seen it… or at least the bodice. When I shared it on our Facebook page the response was not only was it a stunning gown, but “I want to know how to make that trim!”

Into my library I went to explore options on just how to reproduce it. I found a close match and wanted to share with you how to make it yourself. 🙂

1879 Worth for Alice Wade Everett
1879 Worth Gown for Alice Wade Everett. Held at the Western Reserve Historical Society.

The original trim is obviously tapered in size. You can see it wider at the back of the neckline, probably around a full 2″ or more. My guess is that it was cut from a double width of fabric and folded with the raw edges under the center stitching, OR three or more different ribbon widths were used.

Finished trim
Finished puffed trim

My instructions here are based on the Maltese Cross Plaits pattern from the book Ribbon Trims by Nancy Nehring. [Fabulous book, btw!]

 

Measure for ribbon width
Measuring ribbon width

I used wire ribbon which really helped with the pleating. But you can use a soft ribbon, like satin or grosgrain, too. My ribbon was 1.5″ wide which is a basic width and good size for ribbon pleating. This trim would be stunning in a 2″ or even 3″ wide ribbon!

The book instructions say that you’ll need 4 times the length of your finished trim, but I’ve found that’s when you’re pretty exact in your folding. Personally, I’d recommend a bit more than that. So if you have a neckline of 22″, you’ll need a minimum of 88″ or 2.5 yards. Bump this up to 3 yards.

Whatever your ribbon width you’ll need to know the half measurement and quarter measurement. For this tutorial, my 1.5″ ribbon, half is 3/4″ and quarter is 3/8″.

When making the trim I found I measured the half width for the first few motifs but then eyeballed the 3/8″ (quarter width). Also, as I sewed I had to be cautious to not make my motifs smaller each time. I found this to happen naturally, so measuring as you start a new set of pleats will help keep things even.

 

PART A

Half Pleated Set
Half Pleated Set

1 . Start an inch or two from the end and make a full pleat 3/4″ wide (half your ribbon width).

2 . Make two more pleats each 3/8″ wide (quarter of your ribbon width) keeping the folds right on top of the first pleat.

Five Folds seen from top (2)
Five folds on the right as seen from top

3 . Make another 3/4″ wide pleat on top of the stack. Fold the loose ribbon back again to form 5 folds. With each motif I had to count constantly to make sure I had 5 folds. It’s very easy to only have 4 but you need 5. Adjust the ends of the ribbon into another fold if you need to.

Pleats fanned out
The pleats are counted on the left as seen here (2 large pleats and 2 small pleats) but in five folds on the right. This is what they look like when spread apart a bit.
Five Folds
Five pleat folds all stacked evenly before tacking

4 . Tack the center of the pleats through all five folds. Simply do a few whipstitches in the center and tie off.

Five Folds tacked
The five folds tacked in the center

 

5 . Open up the pleats so you have a large and small pleat on each side. The stitch tack will show a little bit on the back side.

Fold open pleats
Stack of tacked pleats folded open
Back of stitched pleat
Back of stitched folds

It’s really important to remember to OPEN YOUR PLEAT STACK AFTER YOU TACK. Don’t do what I did and forget to open them before moving down the ribbon and starting the next folds. Oops!

 

Move over half ribbon width
Moving over half a ribbon width to start the next set of folds

6 . Move over 3/4″ from the pleat fold, or rather a full ribbon width (1.5″ here) to start your next set of pleats.

 

Next puff pleated
The next puff pleated with five folds (now on the left side)

These pleats will form *on the other side of the motif.* I was confused here at first and had my brain set to pleat always in my right hand. No. You stack the pleats on the right, tack, then move down the ribbon and stack more pleats on the left. Or simply turn the ribbon around so your pleats are always forming in your right hand.

Moving to next pleat and pleating to make five folds again
Moving to next pleat and pleating to make five folds again
Back of finished pleats
Back side of finished pleat motifs
Flat sets of pleats in a row - Step A
Flat sets of pleats in a row – Part A

Sewing Note: for faster pacing of making the trim, follow the above directions to pleat the entire length of ribbon first (as seen in the above photo). THEN move on to part B in forming the motifs. I found that “stopping” to pull up the centers broke the rhythm of making the pleats and tacking first. It also made the ribbon harder to hold with the completed motifs.

Also, at this point you may have to hold yourself back from using the reverse side (as in photo below) of the pleated ribbon as the face side of the trim. It’s so pretty from the back!

Back of pleats
Back of pleats creating a neat trim on its own

 

PART B

Edges of a flat pleat stitched together in the center
Edges of a flat pleat stitched together in the center

7 . Pull up the long selvedges of each pleated section and tack together in the center. Just a few whipstitches will do. Knot off.

 

Tack each pleat in the center
Tack each pleat in the center

8 . Repeat with each flat section of pleats making motifs down the length of ribbon.

 

Pleated and fluffed motifs
Pleated and fluffed motifs

9 . Fluff each pleated motif making the folds rounded and soft. Pull them apart, unbend the wire, and make them appear more 3-D awesome.

 

Back side of puffed pleats
Back side of puffed pleats

Even the back side of the fluffed up motifs is really cool looking!

 

10 . Tack the trim around your neckline. This trim is quite loose and can easily twist around curves. Pin to the garment and tack lightly at the first pleat fold tacks to hold.

 

Experiment with various ribbon and fabric strip widths for different looks. Think about combining two or three widths of the same ribbon to produce a tapered trim. Play with making additional stacked pleats within each motif for a really full look.

Have you pleated ribbon to use on a Victorian dress? How did it turn out? Anything you’d do differently?

16 thoughts on “Pleated Trim to Jazz up Your Victorian Neckline

  1. Fran Marshall says:

    Jennifer….just wanted to let you know that DOLLS can benefit from your beautiful trim, too…I make 24″ cloth dolls ( not ‘rag’ dolls) and can hardly wait to make one for this trim…..THANK YOU

  2. Christa Jennings says:

    You’re right, I saw that dress on your Pinterest board, and immediately coveted that trim, but assumed it was so complicated to make (we ARE talking a Worth gown, here) that there was no chance I’d be able to do it. Now I think I can! I’ll have to go to Beverly’s on the way home from work tomorrow for ribbon!

  3. Jody Regan says:

    Jennifer–this trim is beautiful. Thank you for the detailed, easy-to-follow instructions. And thanks for the kick in the pants, too. Your advice about just taking the next step on a project is well taken! Jody

  4. Marilyn Gray says:

    Beautiful! Now to see if I can do it, lol! It looks complicated, but you made it sound so easy! Thanks for sharing

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