For the past two years, I have been working only wedding lace. I have had my youngest daughterâs âall or nothingâ lace veil on the pillow, after about two other years of planning strategy and drawing the pattern. This was to be a 1.15 metre diameter circular piece worked in bands for portability, but then joined while working other connecting bands. Now things have changed and this veil is to have only the three outer bands forming a border that will be mounted onto tulle. This is because she chose a dress that is a slightly different ivory to the Piperâs Silk Ivory that I am using and the dress also has chemical lace appliqué on it which, I feel will not quite blend in with an âall or nothingâ lace veil. (All or nothing weâre always her words!)
Now, in order to create some cohesion between the veil and the dress, we have chosen a tulle that is a shade in between the dress colour and the silk colour. I will be using some of this tulle and the silk thread to make flowers, which I traced off the flowers of the dress lace, and we will fix these flowers on top of the others on the dress - sort of 3D idea, but the flowers I am making are flat. So far, I am outlining the flowers in buttonhole stitch and raising the edges, as is done with needlelace. I am also passing a thin wire around the flower, which will also be covered by the buttonhole stitch so that it will not curl in on itself. Last year, Ilariaâs lace was on hold while I prepared a 10 metre border to edge my elder daughterâs veil. I had only six months in which to do that, because at first she said she would not be wearing a veil and she didnât want any lace either. Then she changed her mind! I used to work half a metre a week, and only managed it because it was only an inch or so wide, but I formed the pattern into scallops because she wanted a scalloped edge. Her idea was for deep, scalloped lace, but I told her I was not a machine and would definitely not manage it as I also had to sew four bridesmaidsâ dresses and my own outfit too. I also made a flower to wear in my chignon, covered some of a bought handbag in lace and made a fan in the last three weeks for myself. Oh...and I had to work two 1.5 metre lengths of very narrow braid for the edge of my poncho-like top as I couldnât find a trim in the right colour! Meanwhile, just after Rebeccaâs wedding last June, I worked a modern piece to put into a frame to take to the UK for a family wedding. I also have a traditional Maltese lace piece (a centerpiece) on another pillow.... Karen in Malta. - To unsubscribe send email to majord...@arachne.com containing the line: unsubscribe lace y...@address.here. For help, write to arachne.modera...@gmail.com. Photo site: http://www.flickr.com/photos/lacemaker/sets/
