Katrin Kania: The ability and permanence of a pleat depend upon heat, moisture, chemicals, adhesives, or mechical stress--just as when the curl or waves are done to hair. Silk can be pleated when it is done 'in the gum' as Fortuny did it for his Delphi dresses. This form of 'set' is not going to be as permanent as a 'set' with a sythetic fiber done with heat or a natural fiber (cotton, linen) done with durable press cross-linking. Hearle & Miles discuss this in their book The Setting of Fibres and Fabrics (Watford(Herts.): Merrow Publishing Co., 1971. Mary Ballard

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Hello Conservators,

I am looking for a way to plissé silk (or, alternatively, thin linen)
fabric for a dress reconstruction. I have asked in a plissé shop where
they told me that nowadays only fabrics not purely made from natural
fibres are pleated, as they hold the pleating better. But there must be a
way to fix the folds in silk and linen as well. Can anybody help me with
this?

Thank you,
Katrin Kania

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Katrin Kania M.A. - Buckenhofer Weg 54 - 91058 Erlangen - Germany
tel. +49-(0)9131-816665
mobile phone +49-(0)160-91614276