I’ve hemmed the skirt (whip-stitched it by hand) and attached the fringe. To hand pleat I individually pin each pleat then stitch. I did not hand stitch the pleating in place because I would rather budget the time for the bodice and the hat (coming later). I will probably hand stitch the pleating onto the skirt. About 13 feet of pleating is needed, which means that the strip of silk is ~25 feet pre-pleated. That’s a lot of pleating, pins, and silk. The cats have been highly entertained by the strip when it is in motion.
After the pleating is stitched in place I very lightly ironed it. Heavier ironing would make it look too rigid, which would contrast too highly with the billowy top of the skirt. It was a design choice.
Hand Pleating: 7 feet post-pleating with 125+ pins. This covers just half the hem.
Half of the Hand Pleating is pinned in place on the train.
