Organza beaded "feather" edge
comments (18) August 9th, 2010 in sewing, online extras, fabric, embellishmentsThis beaded fabric ruffle is an adaptation of a trim I use in my soufflé sweater pieces. It gives a lighthearted edge to otherwise serious clothing, or can be used in layers to make a lush evening top or skirt.
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For this example, we used a strip of organza, 10” long and 45” wide. This will ultimately yield a finished length of 18” of trim, or a 3.5:1 ratio. Use this ratio to gauge how much organza you need to cut, for the edge you want to finish.
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With the rotary cutter, or hot knife (for man-made fibers), cut a curve off the end of the strip. Then, cut out double-ended shapes, as shown. You don’t have to be a perfectionist here—these can be regular, or irregular. The only consideration, is to have them end about 1/2"-3/4” in from the edges of the strip. |
Once you’ve cut out the shapes from your strip, fold the strip in half, aligning the edges, as shown.
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Machine sew these edges together, about ¼” in from the edge. This is the yellow stitching. |
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Using a ruffler foot, and a straight stitch length of 2.5mm, gather the edge. As much as possible, try to make the gathering stitches follow the machine stitching you made to hold the edges together. There will be a little “wobble"—don’t sweat that. |

















Comments (18)
Posted: 2:02 pm on September 21st
Posted: 3:37 am on September 1st
Posted: 3:37 pm on August 25th
As for cleaning, a gentle hand wash for the garment is recommended.
And, as for why I didn't show a finished garment--I'm limited to 20 photos for the post. Also, the readers of Threads are of such a high caliber, that I know they all will see a new technique and immediately get going with their imaginations and use the technique in amazing ways!
Posted: 11:05 pm on August 16th
Posted: 2:44 am on August 16th
Posted: 11:24 am on August 15th
It would have to be a real special garment to do this, like maybe a gown for a cruise!
Posted: 9:57 am on August 13th
Posted: 4:52 pm on August 12th
Posted: 1:23 pm on August 12th
/j/
Posted: 7:08 pm on August 11th
Thanks for the kind words!
Regarding the question of finishing and cutting, this organza is polyester, so I use a hot stencil cutter (the one quilters use for stencils) to cut the organza. That way there is no fraying--the edges are sealed. So, you can dry clean or wash ith no problem.
In answer to the question: Do I stay awake nights? In short, yes.....
Posted: 12:40 pm on August 11th
Lovely! Question: Is the blue organza cut on on the crosswise grain (hence the 45" in this case) or is it cut on the bias?
If cut crosswise, what cleaning instructions do you recommend to avoid fraying?
Thanks!
-Mary
http://www.marygwyneth.com
Posted: 9:36 am on August 11th
Posted: 10:19 pm on August 10th
Thanks ~cheryl
Posted: 9:59 pm on August 10th
Posted: 6:32 pm on August 10th
Posted: 5:50 pm on August 10th
Posted: 5:46 pm on August 10th
Posted: 5:31 pm on August 10th
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