Wavey Pleated fabric tutorial

This is for my FB friend, Angie, who asked if I would share a technique I used on one of my latest pillows. I am happy to share it and an alternative. First I must give credit to Susan Wasinger, and her great book:

 

I have used a few of her fabric techniques in some of my projects. She has such great ideas!

Here is the pillow I used the wave pleat on: 

The linen one

First, use a lightweight fabric, roughly half again the size of your project. Measure off 2" lines with chalk or disappearing marker. 

Fold at the line and sew 1/4" in, like this: 

Continue until all lines are sewn. Then turn the fabric and sew the first line of pleats down like this:

Turn the fabric and sew the pleats down in opposite direction, like this: 

This is were you can experiment with different measurements. The pillow was sewn in 2" by 2" intervals. The jean fabric was sewn in 1 1/2"  (marked lines) by 1/2" sewn lines. The matching thread and larger intervals is more subtle. Try to keep your sewn lines straighter than mine! When you are done it should look like this:

Notice the crooked lines, boo. I wanted them to go away, so I added a decorative stitch down the middle of each space. 

Now I just need to incorporate it into something, not sure yet! Easy peasy technique, with all kinds of possibilities! Oh yea, because the pillow was too subtle, I simply took some embroidery floss, threaded it thru each intersection and tied it off into a knot to add a little color. Try varying the pleat sizes and see what you can come up with. And don't forget to share!