A Puff Trim Mini Tutorial

I trimmed my Gold Galleon Gown with puff trim, which I found to be a lot of fun.  I had several people ask me about it at the Francaise Dinner this past weekend (more on that later) so I thought I'd do a little tutorial about it.  First, my inspiration:

I found this image on Pinterest, and unfortunately I was unable to trace it back to its original source, but I found indications that it is from the Royal Ontario Museum.  Anyway, I loved the puff trim and decided to replicate it.

Here are my materials:

Strips of silk, strips of batting, matching thread, and a long grabby device*

I wanted 2" diameter puffs, so I started by cutting 5" wide strips of my silk, pulling threads to be sure I was cutting on the straight of grain.  I cut a total of five strips from a section of my scraps that was 45" across.  I had calculated that this would give me enough for two vertical serpentine bands along the gown skirt fronts, and one horizontal one on the petticoat.

Very crude drawing of my vision of the final trim placement

I sewed the 5" wide strips into tubes with a 1/2" seam allowance, and turned them inside out.  Then I took one and folded it in half to find the middle:

I placed a pin there to mark it:

I started from the back side, where the seam was:

I pulled the needle through to the front, then wrapped the thread around:

And stuck it back in through the front, coming out near the knot in the back:

Pulling this tight gathered up the tube:

And I tied another knot to hold it in place, and cut my thread:

Now it was time to add stuffing.  I had cut 4" wide strips of batting, which I folded over:

And cut 2" squares:

Now with my grabby thing* I took hold of the batting square:

And stuffed it into the tube:

Starting from the center meant I had less distance to travel with each puff, since both ends of the tube were open and I could go in from either side.

Once the batting was in place, I needed to squish it around from the outside a bit to give it the correct puff shape.  Then I gathered up the other side, added a new bit of batting, and continued:

Pretty soon I had a row of puffs!  When I got to the end, I turned in the edges:

And whipped them closed with large stitches:

Which I then pulled up to gather the end:

And secured it with a final stitch:

Knotted it tightly, and I was done!

Then I started over from the other end of the tube, and followed the same process.  This end I left open, so I could connect the next tube to it.  I pinned the row of puffs in place on my gown skirt:

After I finished the next row, I attached the tubes by folding in the edges of one, and inserting the end of the other:

Then I whipped them together in largely the same manner as I had closed the previous end:

And drew these stitches tight as well:

And my calculations were correct that two strips was enough for one side!

I found that the grabby thing* was also useful for turning the tubes inside out.  Just grab the seam allowance at one end:  

Stuff it into the opening:

And push it through, out to the other side:

Piece of cake!

I also found that silk thread is not the best thing to use for this purpose, as the thread is slippery enough that the knots occasionally pop through the fabric.  I switched to cotton/polyester thread halfway through the first row of puffs, and it went much better.

*I'm sure that "grabby thing" is totally the technical term for it.  I bought mine at Lowe's several years ago.

Decorated Buttons - A Small Tutorial

While working on my Blue Wool Spencer, I played around with decorating a couple of fabric-covered buttons with embroidery floss, to see how I would like the look.  I have a small collection of button molds in different sizes, all of which I have purchased from Burnley & Trowbridge over the last couple of years for various projects.  I have intentionally bought more than I needed each time, so I have extras on hand should the need arise. 

I really enjoy making fabric-covered buttons.  I followed all of the usual steps, but before I could actually make the buttons, I needed to add the design to the fabric. 

I started by tracing circles onto a scrap of muslin.  For the sizes I usually work with, I want a circle at least a 1/4" larger than my button mold, all the way around.  I used two corks I happened to have for my circle templates: 

I cut out the circles from both the muslin and the wool outer fabric together, then laid the button mold in the center of the wool, on the right side: 

I marked the center point and four equidistant outside points with a fabric marker:

This would help me keep the design inside the area which would cover the top of the button.  These dots also helped me to keep the design centered and symmetrical.  I started with a knot in the center:

I used embroidery floss that is close in color to the soutache braid trim on the Spencer, and attempted to mimic the pattern of the braid itself using a looping frog design.

Instead of actually embroidering, I chose to applique the design with regular sewing thread in a close color match:

When I got to the last loop of the design, I cut my embroidery floss, leaving enough excess to thread an embroidery needle:

And pulled the end through the fabric to the wrong side of the button cover, to complete the design.

After I finished stitching this final loop in place,

I used my sewing thread to stitch down the tail on the back side:

Once it was tacked down, I trimmed off the end to make it neater:

Then I placed the muslin circle over the back side of the wool, and made up the button:

I didn't take pictures of the process, but Burnley & Trowbridge have an excellent photo-tutorial on their Facebook page. 

I also made a larger button using a darker wool base and a more complex design:

I was considering using this as a decorative element on the front of the Spencer, and I still might.  But for now I have only made one of these.  I made three total light blue wool buttons, and they are all functional. 

Two small ones fasten the sleeve bands, and a larger one (the same size as the darker blue button above) closes the waistband tab. 

How To Make a Ruffled Petticoat From a Fitted Sheet

Need a ruffled petticoat to add poof to your gown, but don't want to buy yards and yards of fabric?  Use an old, worn-out bedsheet instead!

Look how pretty it can be!  

This can also be done with a flat top sheet, or with a brand-new sheet or set of sheets with a pretty pattern, for a nice underskirt worn with an open robe or jacket.  For my tutorial, I am using an old worn fitted sheet.  This petticoat will be worn only as an undergarment, so I didn't mind the fading in the middle of my sheet.  This will be strictly a utilitarian garment.