“I love combing through old heirloom sewing magazines for inspiration for new projects with Cluny Lace. I admit, I am obsessed with Cluny Lace and order it directly from the English factory. The same machines that have created lace for royal weddings from the 19th century are still in operation – most recently for The Duchess of Cambridge, Kate Middleton’s wedding gown. Think Downtown Abbey and all of those lovely lace Edwardian gowns.
My youngest daughter’s upcoming wedding called for a new bridal garter and I was thrilled to find instructions in a 1998, Sew Beautiful magazine. I’ve modified Tonya Jensen’s instructions for the Janome Skyline S7 with really easy and fun results. Enjoy creating your own one-of-a-kind heirloom garter.” – Milinda Stephenson
Janome Supplies Required
- Two 1″ satin ribbon, 30″ long
- One 1″ flat lace (the lace can be narrower or wider depending on the look you prefer)
- One 13″ length of 3/4 or 1/2″ elastic
- Ribbon and lace (adding charm for adornment)
Instructions
Create Casing:
- To create casing for the elastic, join the two 30″ ribbon lengths.
- Place them side-by-side and join them with a narrow zig-zag stitch.
Press:
- Using low heat and steam, iron the joined ribbons open.
- Fold the ribbons at the seam line and press again.
Attach Flat Lace to Casing:
- Open out the ribbon casing.
- Sew the lace top to the bottom inside of the casing using a narrow zig-zag stitch.
Stitch Casing Closed:
- Fold the satin ribbon in half at the seam line.
- Stitch casing closed using a straight stitch along the bottom edge of the ribbon.
Thread Elastic Through Casing:
- Attach a safety pin to the end of the 13″ elastic piece.
Secure Elastic Tail:
- When the elastic is 13″ into the casing and lying flat, sew down the casing opening, being certain to catch the end of the elastic in order to secure it for gathering the casing.
Thread Elastic Completely through Casing and Secure:
- Once the safety pin emerges from the opposite end of the casing, use a straight stitch to sew down the elastic inside the casing and remove the pin.
- You should now have a gathered casing with the elastic inside, secured on either end with straight stitching.
Join Gathered Casing:
- After trimming off the excess elastic and casing, use fray check to be certain your garter ends don’t fray.
- Now, join the casing to end beneath your presser foot.
- Beginning with the lace, join the raw edges with a zig-zag stitch.
Join Elastic Casing:
- You may need to change your thread color before joining the elastic casing ends together.
- Because there will be a good deal of stress on the elastic from putting on and taking off, be certain to join the elastic with a secure zig-zag by sewing backwards and forwards a few times.
The fun begins:
- Determine what you wish to use to adorn your garter.
- Milinda used lace, narrow ribbon and an earring.
- For the lace, Milinda trimmed out a pretty flower from Cluny Lace, attached the lace, hand sewed the bow atop the lace and embellished with the earring using pliers to secure the earring to the garter.