Sewing with Lace and Fabric

Sewing with Lace and Fabric

Favorite Heirloom Sewing Designs Heirloom Techniques Lace to Fabric Lace to Lace roll and whip Sue Stewart

Lace to Lace

Whether we're making a christening dress, a child's garment, ladies' clothing, a wedding gown or special linens, the same basic techniques are at the core of many heirloom projects. This week we'd like to share tutorials for two such techniques with you: sewing lace to lace and lace to fabric. If you're new to heirloom sewing, these instructions shared by Sue Pennington Stewart in our Favorite Heirloom Sewing Designs edition will help give you the needed know-how to dive into your first project. If you're a seasoned heirloom sewist, perhaps you can share the tutorials with a friend who is new to the craft! 


Things to know before you begin:
• The stitch settings given are not absolutes. Different machines stitch out differently. Use the settings given as starting points, adjust up or down as needed and use what works best for you.

• These techniques work best on very lightweight, natural-fiber fabrics; one hundred percent cotton batiste is the easiest, and most traditional, fabric to work with. The fabric should almost always be starched and pressed before it is sewn.

• For the following techniques, use soft, fine thread and a small needle.

• Fabric pieces should be on grain for this work. A torn edge is a good way to ensure that fabric is on grain; remember that it may be necessary to trim away the fuzzy edges before performing the heirloom techniques described in the following instructions.


Lace to Lace:
1. Press lace without stretching if it is wrinkled, but I do not usually starch lace.

Photo 1

2. Place laces side by side, right sides up (if you can tell a right side) with headings butted together (photo 1).

Photo 2

3. Zigzag (L=1.0; W=2.5) laces together, so that one needle swing goes over heading of one lace, and other needle swing goes over heading of other lace (photo 2). Press this joined strip of lace.


Lace to Fabric (roll and whip):
1. Place starched fabric right side up. Place a lace strip right side down on top of fabric with edge of lace 1/8 inch in from raw edge of fabric (photo 3).

Photo 3

2. Zigzag (L=1.0; W=4.5) so that one needle swing stitches over heading of lace, and other needle swing goes just off edge of fabric. After a few stitches, raw edge of fabric should start rolling in toward and covering lace heading (photo 4). If it doesn't, try increasing needle tension slightly.

Photo 4

3. Press rolled hems toward fabric. This next step is optional, but I use it, almost always, as it gives a much neater look and keeps the rolled seam from folding back under lace. From right side, zigzag (L and W=1.0) with a very tiny stitch so that one needle swing stitches over folded-under edge of fabric and into lace, and other needle swing just catches fabric.

4. Press this lace-embroidery strip again.


Learn many more heirloom sewing techniques on our Sew Beautiful DVDs. These DVDs are full of inspiration and instruction for beginning and advanced heirloom sewists alike, and they are on sale now through March 6 as part of our huge National Craft Month celebration!

Sew On, Sew Well, Sew Beautiful,
Cyndi and Amelia

Tips for Planning a Smocked Bishop Design

Tips for Planning a Smocked Bishop Design

Favorite Heirloom Sewing Designs Maggie Bunch planning a bishop design smocked bishop

The bishop is one of the most versatile designs in children's clothing. A voile bishop with lacy sleeves is perfect for a formal event, while a romper or playsuit with a bishop neckline is both cute and functional. Before constructing a bishop design, you need to decide what kind you'd like to make and select your pattern, fabric and smocking plate. To help you, we'd like to share the following hints from designer Maggie Bunch. These tips and more can be found in our special issue Favorite Heirloom Sewing Designs.

Patterns - Chances are you have more than one bishop pattern. In addition to independent designer patterns, check smocking magazines and books. Not all bishops are created equal! Take time to compare patterns. Lay the front section of one pattern on top of the front of another. Note the differences in the arm curve at the top and side. Compare the width of each piece. Check the length. You may find what works for one look does not work for all the bishops you have in mind.

Fabric - Each pattern is designed for a specific weight of fabric. Many bishop pattern instruction sheets recommend using lightweight fabrics such as batiste. You may use the pattern as it is for the recommended fabric. However, if your pattern is designed for batiste, but you wish to use a heavier fabric, use a pattern that has reduced fullness or make adjustments to your pattern.

The following pictures show three bishops cut from the same pattern. The fabrics are Imperial batiste, Concord cotton calico and Spechler-Vogel corduroy. Each bias neckband is cut to the identical length. Note the batiste pleats are nicely spaced (photo 1A). The calico pleats are tightly packed, but still fit the neckband (photo 1B). However, the corduroy bishop does not fit the neckband at all (photo 1C). 

Pleat a sample of questionable fabric to see how much bulk needs to be eliminated. To remove fabric from the bishop, take equal proportions out of each section: front, backs and sleeves. Fold the center of each pattern piece to maintain the correct neck and hemline curves.

Fibers - Fabric sometimes has a different appearance when it is pleated. Choosing fibers and colors after pleating is more efficient. Working a few stitches will help you make the final decision. Remember, three strands of embroidery floss are not the only option for smocking. Try two strands for a delicate look; try four strands for smocking a novelty print. Branch out! Try new fibers such as floche and stranded silk.

Smocking Plate - Bishop design plates are slightly different than straight yoke plates. For a bishop, look for a smocking design that uses stitches with less give at the top (neck) such as cable, stem and outline stitches. Stitches become progressively more open toward the lower rows of the design (shoulder). Lower rows are usually trellis stitches, possibly trellis/cable combinations. Straight yoke plates tend to have less giving stitches for the top and bottom rows. 

The pattern dictates the number of rows of smocking. Look at the arm curve on the pattern. There is a straight portion from the top down, then it begins to curve. The portion you will smock is the straight section. Measure this straight section against your brand of pleater to determine the number of rows you can pleat on that size (photo 2). Remember to include holding rows. Not all bishop plates are suited for every size bishop. Most commercial plates for bishops are easily adjusted. 

Change the number of rows on larger or smaller bishops by adding or eliminating a repeat of a row at the top or bottom of the design. When adjusting designs, take out the row least likely to affect the flair of the bishop at the shoulders.

Learn how to sew a beautiful bishop dress on the Ready-to-Smock - Smocked Bishop Construction DVD with Connie Palmer. You'll also discover valuable tricks as Connie reviews perfect neckbands, plackets, a variety of sleeve finishes and much more!

Sew On, Sew Well, Sew Beautiful,
Cyndi and Amelia

Sewing with Lace and Entredeux

Sewing with Lace and Entredeux

Favorite Heirloom Sewing Designs gathered lace to entredeux Lace to entredeux

Our special edition, Sew Beautiful's Favorite Heirloom Sewing Designs, is a collection of our most beautiful and inspirational articles, pictorials and free patterns. We poured over decades of magazines to bring you this "best of the best" publication, which also features a section full of tips and tricks for many frequently used heirloom sewing techniques. Below, we'd like to share tutorials for "Lace to Entredeux" and "Gathered Lace to Entredeux" - two techniques that you will see in almost every heirloom garment. Follow these steps from Sue Stewart for perfect results that any "heirloomist" would be proud of.

Keep the following points in mind as you work:
• The thread used is important. Regular polyester or cotton-covered polyester sewing thread is simply too stiff and heavy to give good results. Madeira Tanne 80, a very soft, fine thread, is good to use for embellishment. Mettler 60 is a slightly heavier thread that is also suitable, and a little easier for both you and your machine to work with; it should be used in both the needle and the bobbin. The thread should also match the color of the lace.

• A small needle to go with the fine thread is also important. For the following techniques, use a new size 70 universal needle and make sure your machine is clean, oiled and running smoothly.

• The stitch settings given are not absolutes. Different machines stitch out differently. Use the settings given as starting points, adjust up or down as needed and use what works best for you.

•  In many cases, heirloom techniques are used to create fabric blocks or fancy bands that are slightly larger than needed from which garment pieces or fancy bands are then cut or trimmed to size.

Lace to entredeux

Lace to entreduex:
1.  Starch entredeux well, and press dry. This is important, because it helps to pre-shrink entredeux. If this step is omitted, when the piece with entredeux stitched into it is washed, entredeux will shrink and pucker fabric.

Photo 1

2. Trim batiste edge off one side of entredeux right next to heavily embroidered "ladder." There should be no fabric remaining on that side; entredeux will not ravel (Photo 1).

3. With lace and entredeux both right sides up, butt trimmed edge of entredeux to heading of lace insertion.

Photo 2

4. Zigzag (L=1.0; W=2.5 - 3.0) together so that one needle swing stitches over heading of lace, and other needle swing goes into holes of entredeux (Photo 2).

Gathered lace to entredeux

Gathered lace to entredeux:
1. Trim waste fabric from one side of entredeux.

2. Gather lace to desired fullness to fit entredeux strip by pulling the uppermost thread in lace header. Pin strip of gathered lace to ironing board or padded surface right side up. Adjust gathers evenly. 

3. Cut a piece of Tiger Tape the length of gathered lace strip. Tape strips may also be cut in shorter lengths if you are curving the gathered lace or applying tape to a very long strip of lace. 

4. Stick Tiger Tape to gathered lace strip just below lace header (between 1/8 and 1/4 inch from the lace header edge). This will hold lace gathers in place as you stitch lace to entredeux. 

5. Set tension settings to normal balance. Place matching lightweight thread in bobbin and needle. Thread should match entredeux and lace. 

Photo 3

6. Set machine for a center zigzag (L-2.0-2.5; W=3.0-3.5). Remove lace from board and place trimmed edge of entredeux and gathered lace header side by side, right sides up with edges touching. Length should be adjusted so left swing of zigzag hits as many consecutive holes in entredeux as possible. Width should be adjusted so zigzag travels from hole of entredeux to inside edge of gathered lace edging and pulls lace header snuggly against entredeux (Photo 3).

Photo 4

7.  When gathered lace is attached, remove Tiger Tape (Photo 4).

Be sure to check out Favorite Heirloom Sewing Designs for more heirloom projects and techniques! Create your own work of art using the patterns we've provided or use this issue as the catalyst to revisit your heirloom pattern stash to find your favorites.

Sew On, Sew Well, Sew Beautiful,
Cyndi and Amelia