But how dot he pleats stay in shape, I cannot find any explanation on the internet. I gather heat must be used, but to be honest i could do this by hand, get a heavy weight to put down ont hepleated fabric and bash them in similar to the forc eof this mahcine, but yet as soon as I would open the fabric, half of the crease lines would dissapear and not stay in place. What is being used to make them stay so crisp after they come out the other sid eof the machine, they look solid, is it some kind of spray. i wish there was someone describing how it's used, it's no good just doing a video showing a machine pleating, we want to know how it works and what it is doing?
Traybuff, pleating is set using heating elements. Usually a machine like the one in the video or paper molds with temp industrial steaming equipment are used to create desired design. A good pleater will tell you it has a lot to do with what fabric you are using with synthetic fabrics especially 100% polyester being the best, but there are some silks like, silk dupioni and silk charmuese that pleat great and pleat better than some polys. You can try doing this at home, but that can take hours and nearly impossible if you are trying to do a sunburst pleat like this video. How do I know this? My family has been in the pleating industry since the 70's and we still run our own factory. www.twinspleating.com
Some pleating techniques do use chemicals (Si-Ro-Set for wool garments) before steaming. Siroset changes the structure of wool fibers and that's how they can stay permanent even after being washed. There's no way to recreate that at home as far as I know. However at home your best bet is to use vinegar when you are pleating because vinegar helps keep the pleats (vinegar can also be used to remove creases too) together. Also different fabrics pleat better than others. I think some pleat companies can pleat your garment too, but it might be expensive if it's just one.
