I will be adding alencon lace to my wedding dress. It will be added as appliques at the bodice, and also entirely around the hem of the dress. What is the best way to sew this on? I was going to hand sew it all, but I am wondering if a small machine stitch can be used and will barely even show. If you don’t recommend a small machine stitch, then would I just tack it in places? or should I entirely hand sew every edge of it?
Unfortunately I have a very basic sewing machine. The dress is matte satin. I believe there is some way to release the “teeth” that feed the fabric through in a straight line, and then I can manuver the lace around without going in a straight line? What is your advice on this.
Thank you all for your advice. I definitely need it. 🙂
Replies
Dear Bride to be: I have successfully sewn lace on many wedding gowns. My method is to cut the motifs out (you know lace doesn't fray) and glue baste them to the garment before the bodice is sewn to the skirt. I am hopeless with a glue stick so I use tiny dots of craft glue to hold them without pins. BE CAREFUL! this stuff doesn't wash out. Then I use an embroidery thread that the luster matches the luster of my two materials and basically zig-zag the edges of the lace. Loosen your tension so it won't pucker. I never lower my feed dogs, because the thread blends into the lace so well, you just don't have to follow the edge that carefully. On my machine (Pfaff) I use a stitch width of 3 and a stitch length of 3-4. Test first, sometimes a wider and longer stitch is less obvious. If your machine doesn't even have zig-zag capability, then remember that a straight line will stand out from the curves of the lace and be more visible.
I learned all of this from Palmer/Pletsch's Sew A Beautiful Wedding. It is a small paperback, not very expensive and worth it's weight in gold. I did fail to produce the petticoat(s) I wanted following their directions, but probably the fault was mine. Even so, I did learn what a functioning petticoat had to look like! God bless you. Galey
Galey - Thank you so much! I truly appreciate your help. Can you tell me what type of glue I should use? Does it just say "Fabric Glue" on the label? Can you recommend a brand you use? Then, I should just do tiny dots of the glue to hold it on while sewing, right? Thank you for your help. Have a great day! Sue
Dear Sue: I should have said white craft glue. I was in MJ trim in NYC and the employees were gluing various jobs using OK To Wash It and Gem-Tac and said they couldn't tell the difference. I usually use Aleene's Tacky Glue (in the bottle), Gem-Tac, or Elmers original. Production note: If you will put a mug by your work, and set your opened glue bottle upside down in it, your glue will flow smoothly, and you won't have to wait for it when you want it. The mug I use gets clean in the dishwasher. Also, keep a clean white damp hand towel at your side to immediately wipe any glue that gets where you don't want it. When I first used this technique, I just imagined where I would put pins to hold the lace, and put my tiny glue dots there, usually about 1" apart. Use the smallest amount of glue that will hold your lace in place while sewing. Don't sew until the glue is dry, about 40 min-1 hour. I'm going to attempt to find a source of the book I mentioned for you--It really would be worth the effort to get it. Mine is 17 years old and I refer to it every time I sew a wedding gown. Galey
This post is archived.