Instructions for lining

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These instructions are for lining a basket or hatbox with pleated fabric, then finishing off with a braid. Its a technique I learnt from a friend whil living in Miri, Sarawak on the island of Borneo. It was a popular activity amongst the expat women living there, and I can't remember who originated it.

Materials

Something to line, in this case a painted hatbox Sufficient 100% cotton fabric (instructions for measuring below) Double sided satin ribbon (9 times the length of finished braid required) Clear contact adhesive (the yellow snotty sort soaks through and stains the fabric, but is a stronger adhesive so worth using for other projects) Some PVA glue Quilter's batting sufficient to cover the base Stiff carboard sufficient to cover the base (I use picture framer's mount off-cuts) Tape measure Scissors Sharp craft knife Pencil or maker

Making the Braid

	Start by measuring the circumference of the box or basket. You will need 9 times this amount in double sided satin ribbon. You can use single sided, but you will see both sides of the ribbon in the completed braid. Start by working out the middle of the length of ribbon, with each loose end draping to either side of you. Follow the steps in the photos below (there really is no adequate way of describing these steps using words). When approximately the required length of braid is achieved, thread an entire end through the final loop, rather than another loop. Do not cut off the trailing ends at this stage, as its not possible to be exact about the length required until its glued in place.

Lining the box or basket

	Start by measuring the depth of the object you are lining. You already have the circumference from making the braid above. The other measurement you need to know is the width of the lining fabric. For hatboxes, its worth painting the first few centimetres of the inside of the hatbox, because the uneven nature of the braid means that its inevitable that some will show through, and the grey/brown cardboard is fairly ugly. You should also start a few millimetres below the top of the box, because otherwise the raw edges of the fabric will show beyond the braid. With baskets, there is usually a kind of lip woven to finish off the basket, and this will hide the braid and any raw edges of fabric that might otherwise show. On both cases, allow 3 to 4 cm of excess at the bottom: this will be covered by the base, and needs to be sufficient to ensure that inserting the base tightens the pleats as it goes in. In this example, I wanted each strip of fabric lining the side to be 31 cms in depth. The fabric is about 104 cms wide and the outside circumference of the hatbox is 109 cms. Therefore about 3 strips of the fabric should be sufficient to line the sides.
	So with the lining fabric stretched out, measure off the depth of the strip required. In this case, that's 31 cm. Start with a short cut with a pair of good dressmakers scissors. Never bother with blunt ones - get them sharpened or throw them away.
	Finish off the cut by tearing the fabric. Since you are using good quality 100% cotton quilter's fabric, tearing it will ensure the width is even and follows exactly the grain of the fabric.
	Using clear contact adhesive, begin to glue each fabric strip to the interior of the box or basket. If you have not pre-pleated the fabric, don't worry - just gather up pleat and finger-press in place. It will look more even than you think - noone ever gets down on hands and knees with a ruler to check. I actually use the pleater and iron each pleat before gluing each section to the box. But that's because I'm a perfectionist and a fuss-bum. Instructions for using the pleater in the next section.
	Trace around the base of the object onto the heavy card. With a basket, it might be better to use a sheet of tissue or baking paper and trace a template from the inside, because of the irregular nature of them, and the thickness of the walls
	Using a strong craft knife, cut the base out at least 0.5cm in from the drawn line. The base should not be a tight fit - its there to keep the pleats in place. Test the size of the base in the hatbox or lining. If its too tight, trim off a bit more.
	Using PVA glue, glue some quilter's batting onto the base. Trim off any excess batting
	Using contact adhesive, glue around the edge on the underside of the base and glue on a piece of fabric large enough to cover the base with about this much excess. Keep working around the base pulling and tightening the fabric as the glue dries. This will allow I nice smooth finish.
	Using PVA glue, glue the bas into place. All to dry.
	Using contact adhesive, glue on the braid. Once its nearly all in place, and you know exactly how long the braid needs to be, un-pull enough loops to get it to fit, feed an end through the final loop and trim the ribbon so that there is 2-3cm of tail end. Fold these under the end of the braid and glue the final little bit in place. It should overlap the start of the braid just enough to hide it, and to make the braid look continuous.

Making and using a pleater

I have made my own pleater, according to the instructions on this website. These instructions are good, but fairly general, so I will provide the details of the one I made here. I used heavy weight iron on interfacing, the sort designed to be used with 100% cotton. I didn't have any calico, which would have been better because it holds ironed creases better. I had loads of secondhand white poly-cotton curtain lining, from recycled curtain samples. I cut the interfacing to approximate size first, ironed it onto a larger piece of curtain lining, then used a quilting rule to accurately cut away excess so that the finished piece was completely square and measured 38 x 96 cm. I then marked on the interfacing side with a pencil, lines alternating between 1cm and 2 1/2 cm apart, but starting 3 cm in from the end for stitching down the backing fabric. Then I folded along each line and ironed firmly, first in one direction then in the other, to form pleats. I then cut out and ironed on to the back, a 38 x 40 cm sized sheet of double sided iron-on interfacing (usually used for applique). In Australia this is called Viliesofix, but in the UK its something completely different that I can't remember. Then I peeled off the backing paper and ironed on the piece of decorative fabric to finish it off. Having finished and used it, I think I should have used a more sturdy piece of interfacing. The lines would have been better 1.5 and 3cm apart respectively, because the pleats weren't deep enough to stay in place readily once I transferred the fabric to the inside of the hatbox. Its a good idea to stitch along the top and bottom of the pleated fabric section before gluing it in place. When using the pleater, spray the fabric with starch spray and allow to dry and cool before removing from the pleater.