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Embellishing Your Own Lace
Elastic Button Loops |
Fabric Appliques Techniques | Steel
Boning for Wedding Gowns | Sewing
Drops or Fringes | Embellishing
Lace | Sewing Fabric
Roses
Laces
embellished with beads, pearls and sequins have elegance, charm
and sophistication. Unfortunately, they all too often have an exorbitant
price tag as well. Embellished lace is $100 to $200 more per yard
than the same lace without the embellishments. With a little time
and a few quality materials, you can have the look you want.
If you
plan to echo ready-to-wear, you should use the type and quality
of materials that are used on those garments. However, you can count
on your workmanship to be superior, and you needn't even be a skilled
with a needle!
Bridal
laces used today often have both pearls and sequins. The type of
sequin currently popular is a clear iridescent cup style in a 6mm
size. The flat sequins are used on evening and casual garments,
where they are placed on top of a printed design or they can create
a design on a soft chiffon.
The pearls
used are of a higher quality than typical craft quality. You pay
more, but the difference is very apparent. The pearled finish on
these beads reflect the color they are placed on. The white pearls
look at home on stark white, soft white, candlelight, ivory, pale
pink and even taupe lace. Ivory pearls are rarely seen, with those
produced in Japan being by far the finest. Most ivory pearls, even
the bridal quality ones, are dyed after importation. This dye job
produces an inferior color. The white pearls come in three shapes:
round (ranging in size from 2-1/2mm to 4mm), oats (a small almond
shape), and drops (a teardrop shape).
Sewing
on Sequins
1. Match
thread to the color of the lace and use a small needle.
2. Sequins
are sewn on one at a time. They may overlap, but they should not
line up in a row like string sequins.
3. Sequins
have a hole in the center. One stitch through this hole is sufficient
to hold the sequin in place. However, two to three stitches keeps
it flat and resists loss.
4. Tie
off or knot after each group or area of sequins is sewn.
Sewing
on Pearls
1. Match
thread to color of lace, and use a small needle. Beading needles
are for stringing beads, not for sewing.
2. To sew
on a single pearl, insert needle from the back of fabric. Go through
the hole in the bead then take a stitch. The size of the stitch
should be slightly larger than the pearl so it lays flat, but not
so large that it flops around.
3. To sew
a group of pearls, insert needle from back of fabric and slide three
to five pearls on the needle, then take a stitch. The size of the
stitch will be slightly larger than the row of beads. Take a tiny
stitch between each bead to anchor it in place. Groups of two don't
always need the anchoring stitch.
4. Tie
off after each group or area of beads.
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