Basic Pleated Swag 9205 mounting board bulk

If you have interlining, sew it to the lining below the board line, in the pleated area. Then trim it away at the stitching. Interlining should not be in the mounting area after the pleats are formed. After the swag is turned and pressed, secure the lining by stitching at the board line in the pleat areas. Do this before the pleats are pinned in. Trim away the lining is the pleat areas. This will eliminate the bulk of the lining in the stacked pleats. Pin in the pleats, if it is still too thick, your fabric is not appropriate for pleated swags. The only thing more you can do is to trim away some of the layers underneath. Do this carefully, keeping a neat look at the areas that show. Remember, you should not expect a smooth even look all the way across, a natural look for swags is that the pleats are thicker than the middle. Just try to keep the stack itself smooth and even.

Another tip is to plan it so that one pleat stack will not overlap another pleat stack. Our Workroom Manual gives even more examples for eliminating bulk when bulk of jabots overlap a pleated end of a swag. Too much to go into here.