Taming Pleater Threads

How do you keep your pleater threads from getting tangled?

The first time I used my pleater, my spools of thread were left to their own devices-not a good idea as they soon got tangled and rolled everywhere and even become a plaything for the household cats!

Then I saw a board with individual pegs for each spool and my husband was very good and made me one. A great solution and not very expensive. It sat on the counter in front of my pleater and the threads were always neat and the spools stayed put (sorry cats!).

Spool pegs on their board

But as great as that was, I then saw a better solution. I saw a board with the pegs attached and the pleater attached to it too, so then nothing moved or slipped when you were pleating. You can still remove the pleater when necessary, which is great. My father, visiting from England, helped with this version. He used the previous peg board and screwed it to one end of a larger board. He was thoughtful enough to cover the base board with sticky back plastic so the fabrics do not get caught on the rough surface and it can be wiped clean. He also added rubber feet on the underside to stop it scratching the table surface and also help keep it in place when pleating.

My Sally Stanley attached to its board 

with the spool board attached at the back.

So I had a great item to help me pleat and not have to worry about the threads running a-muck-
thanks to my husband and father. I have been happy using it for many years.

Then a few years I was given a 16 row Read pleater by someone who no longer required it. It is a little smaller than my Sally Stanley and easier to use if it needs to be transported (pleating at a Wee Care workshop or demonstrating at a Smock in Public day). It fits nicely in a plastic shoe box, but there is  that problem again-how to tame the pleater threads! It just so happened that my husband was given a bottle of malt whiskey in a rather nice box. I was loathe to throw the box  out as I felt sure I could find a way to re-purpose it. And I did! It is a great pleater thread box for the Read pleater. I purchased some thin dowel and cut it to fit tightly along the length of the box. My spools of thread slide onto the dowel and then when the box closes, the magnetic edge holds the threads in place outside the box. The box is about the same size as the shoe box so they sit on top of each other nicely when they are not being used.

Inside the box, showing the dowel and threads.

The closed box

So let me know how you tame your pleater thread spools.

Pleating 'washing-line' style getting 

ready to teach a smocked ornament class to my EGA chapter!