CIMENT PLEATING

Today, Matthew Weinert the managing director of Ciment Pleating came in to speak to us. Ciment pleating opened in 1925, making it the oldest pleating firm in the UK. The business may only consist of a small team but what they have accomplished is amazing! They are Number 1 in the country and export their services to Europe and the rest of the world; they have even done commissions for Queen Elizabeth, Lady Gaga, and a well-known television series called Game of Thrones.

Matthew brought in a variety of pleat samples on a range of a different fabrics and a couple of their unique cardboard molds. I never knew so many pleats existed! Using one of these molds he demonstrated the process of how they create the pleats but on a smaller scale:

1. The fabric is sandwiched between two pieces of identical mold which is then folded and rolled up tight
2. For the fabric to set into the desired shape it needs to be heated. This would usually be put into a steam cabinet but for this demonstration Matthew used an iron
3. Once it had cooled down it was removed from the mold and we got to see the pleated fabric

Now I know the process I’d really like to try and create my own mold to achieve pleats like the ones I saw today.