Search Craftstylish.com

[BeSewStylish: Basic Training to Unleash Your Creativity]

How to Make a Lace-Trimmed Silk Scarf

comments (2) November 11th, 2009     

On your mark, get set, sew
You’re the maestro, but like any orchestration, you have to rehearse. You decided how to place your lace. Now, you decide where to sew it. Start with a few photocopies of your lace.

1. Experiment with your sewing line. On the sample, I stitched a line inside the scalloped edge—just enough to let some of the open lace show. Before you start sewing, you need to know which lace line you want to follow. Copy the lace and use a highlighter to try different versions. Several paths I could have used are shown above, including the one I chose.




2. Corner your lace. Position your lace with the corners overlapping and crossed. Sew the inside edge from the right side with a straight stitch 2.5mm long. Sew close to the edge, and pivot at the inside corner where the next lace strip crosses. Backstitch several stitches to begin and end the stitching. Turn the overlap from the short end under diagonally from the inside corner to the outside corner. Adjust the fold as needed to make a good-looking outside corner, and pin it in place. Topstitch along the fold, and trim the extra lace close to the stitching. Press, as shown at upper right.




3. Make the second pass. Sew the outside line you picked with your earlier experiments. Use either the same straight stitch or a narrow zigzag if your fabric is prone to ravel. You can also drop your feed dogs and free-motion sew along this edge if your fabric is not too stretchy. Match the thread to your lace.




4. Frame it. For the final touch, on the wrong side, trim the scarf fabric close to your last stitching line. Any sharp scissors will work, but duck-billed appliqué scissors help you avoid accidentally snipping into your lace.

posted in: sewstylish feature, scarf, quick stuff, sewstylish technique, sewing machine, lace, silk, lace trim