Ooops... Meant to send this to the list, sent it to Char alone
instead... The holidays are alredy exerting too much pressure on my few
remaining brain cells... :) Apologies to Char for getting the message
twice.
On Dec 23, 2005, at 13:28, Char Fischer wrote:
Dear Friends, I have made lace for a garter from a pattern on page
130,131 in
50 New Bobbin Patterns by Claire Burkhard . I need to attach it to a
periwinkle blue ribbon with a casing to make the garter. I really need
suggestions. My daughter (bride) would like all of the lace to show.
I had
thought I would sew the edging inside of the casing.....but.
Do you plan on having:
A) two lengths of lace, one each side of the blue ribbon (sort of
lace-ribbon-lace "sandwich"), or:
B) single length of the edging, with ribbon attached to the top
(footside) edge?
If B, then, do you plan on the ribbon:
a) providing a coloured backing to the entire width of lace, or:
b) being a sort of narrow "hem" at the footside/top, with skin/stocking
as the background for the lace?
Each would be handled differently, with A and B/b being the easiest and
B/a being the hardest. In all cases, I'd suggest silk, or at least
cotton for the ribbon and the casing; the modern all "plastic"
(artificial fiber) ribbons are fairly stiff and don't gather as nicely.
Must this be hand sewn or is the machine ok.
Me, I'd use machine and big stitches with it :) The stitches will,
likely, disappear, once the garter is gathered a bit.
How does the length of the elastic relate to the size of the person's
leg?
If you have the person in question within easy reach, just make it
comfortable; you don't want the garter to slide down to her ankle as
she's walking up or down the aisle but you don't want to cut off her
circulation, either :) If you use flat elastic, you can use a safety
pin to keep the overlap together to try. Don't forget to err on the
loose side -- as the lace/ribbon/casing is gathered, it will add some
bulk, making the elastic tighter.
Is there a mathmatical formula?
If there is, I wouldn't know it, math being one of my weak points
(along with physics and puters). The length of the _lace_ (and, by
extension, the ribbon and the casing) depends on the final overall look
you want, as well as on the cut of the dress and on where on the leg
your daughter wants to wear the garter (if she wants it high up and the
dress is closely fitted, a heavily gathered garter might bulge and show
through the dress)
I am also making the same pattern for lace around a 9inch linen
handkerchief I bought at the Irish Linen shop in Victoria, British
Columbia. How should this be
attached.
If you're making the pattern in the version with corners as part of the
lace (rather than straight and gathered), baste it "backwards" to the
hankie. That is, match the footsides of the lace to the outer edges of
the pre-made hankie, letting the lace fall back onto the hankie fabric
(you may need to fold the corners and pin them to the fabric to keep
them out of your way).
Then overcast, not _too_ tightly, by going through every pinhole in the
lace and the outermost 2-3 threads of the crease or roll in the
hankie's hem. In this particular patern, I'd probably also try to
connect the two pinholes where the gap is, to match the "down the
middle" sewings, unless you're replacing the "turn around the pin" foot
with a "proper" (pin under 4, trade the workers) one, which will close
that gap.
Once the overcasting is done, remove the basting threads and the lace
will fall back outwards, barely overlapping the edge of the hankie.
I've preferred this way of attaching lace to hankies ever since I made
an eging (crochet, before I learnt BL), spent hours attaching it in the
traditional way (nice and fancy and "iron-clad") then spent even more
time trying to "disengage" the two, after the fabric disintegrated, but
the edging remained "as new". Most of the fabric is not woven to last
these days, while hand-made lace lasts and lasts and lasts, given
half-decent treatment. So, even if I'm dealing with a piece of fabric
rather than a pre-made hankie, I hem the hankie first (as fancy as I
feel like <g>), and attach the lace in a way which makes the lace
removable. Lace is valuable, fabric is much less so.
Oh, I almost forgot... Wheter you make straight lace to be gathered
(and there _is_ a mathematical formula for allowing it to go around a
corner. I think it's: "each corner length is twice the width of the
lace", but I won't swear to that <g>), or one with corners, make an
extra repeat rather than one less, if there's a question. Stretching
lace to fit is not healthy for lace but easing it in is not difficult
and the slight hint of gathering makes it more flirtatious and
appealing.
Yours, going into the serious cooking/baking and otherwise
holidays-oriented mode tomorrow (The Son flies in from CA on Christmas
Day). I'll continue to read, but am not likely to have much time or
energy left to write until after New Year's. So...
Merry Christmas to everyone -- may you spend it in the warmth of the
family nest, whether you believe in fairy tales or not. And may the
coming year be better to you than the one just about to leave.
--
Tamara P Duvall http://t-n-lace.net/
Lexington, Virginia, USA (Formerly of Warsaw, Poland)
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