Folded Threads and Sacred Forms: Pleating Techniques in Ancient Egypt

Posted On April 24, 2025

Pleated linen is one of the most visually arresting features of ancient Egyptian dress—seen on statues of queens, tomb paintings of priests, and even garments preserved in royal tombs. But how were these iconic pleats made, and how have they survived for thousands of years? This article explores the engineering behind Egyptian pleated textiles, drawing on extant garments, experimental archaeology, and the work of leading textile scholars. From manual shaping to self-pleating weaves, the techniques reveal a sophisticated understanding of fiber, structure, and aesthetics that remains unmatched in the ancient world.

Engineering Elegance: How Ancient Egyptians Created Pleated Linen 5/2024

By Anela Abdel-Rahman, PsyD, Egyptologist

Known in the SCA as Talia bint al-Athir, OP

Kingdom of An Tir

The sharply pleated linen garments of ancient Egypt are among the most iconic visuals in the ancient world. Rendered in tomb paintings, statuary, and preserved textiles, these garments have captivated researchers not only for their beauty, but for their structural precision. How were such pleats made—and why have many survived so well?

Textile archaeologists have proposed several plausible techniques used by Egyptian weavers and finishers to create pleats in linen. These theories are based on analysis of extant textile fragments, experimental reconstructions, and the study of ancient tools and materials. Together, they reveal a sophisticated understanding of fiber manipulation that blurred the boundaries between art and engineering.

Evidence from Extant Garments

Several extant garments help illuminate this history. Notable examples include the Old Kingdom tunic from Deshasheh¹, the pleated linen robes from the tomb of Maiherpri, and numerous exquisitely pleated garments recovered from Tutankhamun’s burial assemblage. These pieces include both complete garments and textile fragments, some still retaining defined pleats despite their antiquity. Analyses by textile scholars such as Gillian Vogelsang-Eastwood and Elizabeth Barber have examined the yarn twist, thread density, pleat structure, and garment construction to understand how pleating was achieved and maintained over thousands of years.

The Deshasheh¹ tunic, excavated by Flinders Petrie from a 5th–6th Dynasty tomb, is particularly significant. Though relatively simple in construction, it features narrow, finely pleated sleeves that were pleated after weaving using manual pressing techniques. The linen is plain-woven, and the pleats—formed by folding damp cloth and pressing it, likely around rods or cords—begin at the shoulder and extend down the arm. The garment does not show evidence of self-pleating or chemical setting, suggesting that mechanical shaping was the primary technique used. Its survival demonstrates that controlled pleating was in use as early as the Old Kingdom and may have influenced later, more elaborate applications

One particularly valuable extant example is the pleated V-necked dress from Naga ed-Dêr, dated to the Sixth Dynasty and currently housed at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (inv. u 34.56). This finely woven linen garment features narrow, meticulously formed pleats concentrated across the body, with a tailored V-neck and structured shoulders. Although some pleats may have been mechanically shaped after weaving, their uniformity has prompted comparisons to self-pleating behavior observed in experimental weaving studies. The garment provides critical insight into both the aesthetic priorities and technical abilities of late Old Kingdom textile production.

Pleated Linen Tunic, Old Kingdom, ca. 2300–2200 BCE.

Museum of Egyptian Antiquities, Cairo. One of the oldest preserved examples of Egyptian pleated clothing, this garment showcases meticulous pleating likely achieved through manual pressing techniques. Its survival over 4,000 years offers critical insight into the craftsmanship and structural ingenuity of ancient Egyptian textile workers.

Manual Pleating: Pressing Linen After Weaving

The most widely accepted method for creating pleats in linen is manual pleating after weaving. In this technique, damp linen was folded, rolled, or wrapped around rods or cords, then pressed and left to dry. The tension within the fabric during drying helped to set the pleats, producing sharp, even folds.

Experimental archaeologists, including Gillian Vogelsang-Eastwood⁴, have successfully replicated this process, producing garments that closely match those seen in ancient Egyptian wall paintings and statuary. While straightforward in concept, the method requires finely spun linen and a practiced hand to achieve uniformity.

Some scholars have suggested that this process may have been aided by natural stiffening agents, such as plant gums or mineral solutions, to help retain the pleated shape. While few chemical residues survive, circumstantial evidence and known Egyptian materials support this possibility.

Corner of a pleated linen sheet of queen Neferu

Middle Kingdom, ca. 2051–2030 B.C., The Metropolitan Museum

Self-Pleating Weave Structures: Engineering Pleats on the Loom

Textile archaeologist Ann Richards⁵ has demonstrated a remarkable alternative: that some pleated fabrics may have been designed to pleat themselves as they were woven. Using experimental archaeology, Richards produced linen that spontaneously pleated when removed from the loom, through careful manipulation of yarn twist, weave tension, and thread density.

By combining high-twist S-spun weft threads with a lower-tension Z-spun warp, Richards created compressive tension in the fabric. When the finished cloth was released from the loom, it contracted into regular, durable pleats without pressing, starching, or shaping. These pleats closely resemble those seen in high-status garments from the New Kingdom, such as those in Tutankhamun’s wardrobe.

Richards suggests this technique may have been known to elite Egyptian weavers, particularly for garments used in ceremonial, religious, or royal contexts, where precision and visual impact were paramount.

Weaving Textiles That Shape Themselves Ann Richards

The Crowood Press, ISBN: 9781847973191 PUBLISHED: 31/03/2012

Extant Garments That Support the Theory

Richards correlates her experimental results with several preserved garments whose pleating suggests a structural origin:

Tutankhamun’s pleated tunics and kilts (e.g., Carter 36m, 39d2) feature highly regular pleats that remain intact over 3,000 years later, with no evidence of pressing folds or starching agents. The pleats’ uniformity across the fabric width and absence of distortion or tool marks suggest they were planned at the loom. Archival images and documentation of these garments can be found via the Griffith Institute.
Maiherpri’s tomb (KV36) yielded pleated linen fragments reported to spring back into shape when unrolled, supporting the idea that structural memory was built into the textile. Documentation of the tomb’s finds, including his garments and wrappings, can be found in overviews such as The Past Magazine’s feature on KV36.
Unprovenanced New Kingdom pleated linen fragments, found in collections such as the Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology and the Manchester Museum, demonstrate similarly stable pleating—without signs of seams, pinning, or stiffeners. These fragments strongly echo the behavior of Richards’ self-pleating samples and provide supporting evidence for the viability of engineered pleating during the weaving process. Explore them via the Petrie Museum and Manchester Museum.

Sidebar: What Is Self-Pleating Weaving?

Self-pleating weaving involves building pleats into the textile’s structure as it is woven. This is accomplished by:
– Using S-spun weft threads with a high degree of twist
– Weaving into a Z-spun warp under lower tension
– Carefully controlling the weft density across the fabric

Upon release from the loom, the fabric naturally contracts along the weft, creating tight, uniform pleats. This method leaves no need for post-weaving shaping and may account for the lasting structure of some ancient garments.

Storage-Induced Micro-Pleating: Twisting and Folding

Some pleated effects may not have been intentionally created but developed through how garments were stored or worn. Linen is prone to creasing, and tightly folded, rolled, or knotted cloth can develop fine, persistent pleats over time. This is particularly relevant in funerary contexts, where linen garments were wrapped and stored in tombs for millennia.

While this does not account for the sharply defined pleats seen in elite garments, it may explain subtler pleating or texture seen in non-elite dress and everyday wear. Egyptian art often shows pleated and unpleated garments side by side, hinting at a range of methods and effects.

Starch and Sizing: Natural Aids for Pleat Formation?

In addition to structural weaving and physical manipulation, scholars have proposed that natural stiffening agents were used to help hold pleats in place. While chemical residues are rarely preserved, there is textual and contextual evidence for the use of substances that could function as textile sizing.

Gum Arabic

Derived from acacia trees, gum arabic⁴ was widely used in ancient Egyptian ink and cosmetics. It forms a thin, flexible film when dried, can be rehydrated, and washes away cleanly. These properties make it a strong candidate for temporary pleat setting, especially in garments worn for ceremonial or elite presentation.

Top : Acacia tree (Acacia senegal) exuding gum arabic. Bottom: A pile of gum arabic from Acacia species.Encyclopedia Britannica

Natron

Natron, a naturally occurring blend of sodium carbonates and salts, was central to purification, mummification, and cleansing rituals. It absorbs moisture rapidly and may have helped accelerate the drying process during pleat-setting, although it would not have stiffened the cloth on its own.

Natron deposits in the Era Kohor crater in the Tibesti Mountains, Chad

Green Papyrus Sizing

One of the more intriguing theories suggests that the sap or mucilage from green papyrus⁶ could have served as a plant-based starch. When crushed and soaked, the pith of papyrus releases a sticky fluid rich in hemicellulose and pectin—compounds that act similarly to starch. Used as a surface treatment, this substance could have lightly stiffened linen while drying, aiding pleat formation in high-status or ritual garments. While no confirmed residues of papyrus starch have been identified on extant garments, the theory remains chemically and culturally plausible.

Papyrus (Cyperus papyrus). Encyclopedia Britannica

The Broader Implication: Textiles as Technology

Pleated linen in ancient Egypt was not merely aesthetic—it was engineered. Whether shaped through weaving tension, pressed into form, or stiffened with natural agents, these garments reflect a mastery of fiber mechanics that rivals modern textile science. The survival of such pleats after thousands of years speaks to the innovation of ancient Egyptian weavers.

These artisans were not simply laborers—they were textile technologists, using mathematics, material knowledge, and artistic vision to produce garments that embodied order, purity, and divine aesthetics. Their legacy lives on in the folds of linen that still speak to us across time.

Endnotes

1. W.M.F. Petrie, *Deshasheh* (London: Egypt Exploration Fund, 1898), 18–20.

2. Griffith Institute, *Carter Object Cards, KV62*; Ann Richards, “Self-Pleating Weave Structures in Ancient Egyptian Linen,” in *Textiles from the Nile Valley*, eds. A. De Moor and C. Fluck (Tielt: Lannoo Publishers, 2007), 78–91.

3. Elizabeth Wayland Barber, *Prehistoric Textiles: The Development of Cloth in the Neolithic and Bronze Ages* (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1991), 202–208.

4. Gillian Vogelsang-Eastwood, *Pharaonic Egyptian Clothing* (Leiden: Brill, 1993), 49–59; examination of linen fragments in the Petrie Museum and Manchester Museum collections.

5. Ann Richards, Self-Pleating Weave Structures in Ancient Egyptian Linen,” in Textiles from the Nile Valley, eds. A. De Moor and C. Fluck (Tielt: Lannoo Publishers, 2007), 78–91.

6. Walter A. Fairservis Jr., “Papyrus and Its Use in Ancient Egypt,” *Expedition* 8, no. 3 (1966): 18–27.

See artifact notes and photographic evidence from KV36, cited in The Past Magazine, “The Tomb of Maiherpri,” accessed 2024.