For the MaanKids shoot for MonDepot, I made a little Tinny dress for Ava in a stunning peach voile.

I added four pintucks to the front.

They are super simple, but add a bit of sophistication to the dress (I think).

In a halfbaked attempt to be hashtagfriendly, I decided to give the pleats a name. They have a bit of a Scandinavian look to them, so I went for a Danish name. The pleats do look a bit like stairs, so Trappe – the Danish word for staircase – seemed appropriate. Thanks, Google Translate!

I made a little tutorial for the pleats.

 

Tutorial: Trappe pleats

1. Cut out a double folded piece of fabric which is about as wide as the front bodice pattern, but at least 10 cm (4″) longer.
Mark where you would like the pleats to start (so where the top of the pleats should be). The four finished pleats will together be some 4.25 cm (1.75″) high.

2. Measuring down, make 7 more markings, as illustrated in the picture below. Use your scissors to give little snips, so that you mark both layers at once.

3. Fold your bodice piece open, and match up markings 1 and 2 to create the first pleat, both at the left and right side of the panel. Press the pleat.

4. Stitch all the way from one pair of markings to the other. If your markings are correct, you are stitching at 1,25 cm (1/2″) from the fold.

4. Create the three other pleats in the same way: match up markings 3 and 4, press, and stitch. Match up markings 5 and 6, press, stitch. Match up markings 7 and 8, press, stitch.

This is what the result will look like:

5. Press the pleats down with your iron, and fold your panel in half again. Cut the front bodice piece from the panel.

This is what the result will look like:

Now take your new front bodice piece, and stitch up that Tinny dress! 🙂

Using this tutorial? Hashtag with #trappepleats if you’d like other seamstresses to find your creation on Instagram.