Heirloom Sewing: Essential Techniques

Class Preview

Replicate the look of vintage heirloom sewing with your home machine! Discover techniques for shaping and stitching lace trim, entredeux, pintucks and more.

Introduction to Heirloom Sewing

Meet designer and heirloom sewing expert Susan Stewart and learn how simple yet precise techniques on your sewing machine can recreate the look of French-hand sewing. Susan explains the best fabrics to use for a crisp, vintage look and what types of patterns to use.

Sewing Lace

Delicate, beautiful lace trims and insets are an essential part of heirloom sewing. Susan guides you through the characteristics of heirloom lace and how to choose the best ones for your project. Then you’ll learn how to easily stitch lace to lace and lace to fabric.

Sewing Entredeux

Learn all about entredeux, a beautiful trim used in heirloom sewing. Let Susan show you how to get gorgeous results with entredeux sewn to flat or gathered lace, then to flat or gathered fabric, with perfectly positioned zigzag stitches.

Lace Shaping

Discover how to add shaped lace to your heirloom garments, from scalloped hem insertions to heart- or diamond-shaped closed-lace embellishments. Then follow along as Susan shows you options for adding a different center fabric or design to a closed-lace motif.

Tucks & Pintucks

Tucks and pintucks are classic design elements in heirloom garments. Susan demonstrates how to make perfectly aligned released tucks. Then, make beautiful rows of pintucks with a double needle. Finally, have fun with pintuck design options that look much harder to do than they are.

Shark’s Teeth

Susan’s original “shark’s teeth” technique has been a hands-down favorite of her students over the years. Learn to mark, press and stitch perfect rows of points using the downloadable template for a sophisticated, lovely trim on a garment or home decor project.

Madeira Appliqué

Learn Madeira appliqué, a beautiful machine-sewn finishing detail inspired by a Portuguese hand technique. You’ll ready the garment and template using freezer paper, prepare the appliqué with water-soluble thread, and finally stitch with a large needle to get the look of hand sewing.

Cathedral Lace Windows

Discover the magical cathedral lace windows technique, with shaped bias fabric strips surrounding lace inserts to create a breathtaking trim. Susan walks you through the process step by step to create precise lace windows or “eyes,” then shows you options for decorative details.

Introduction to Smocking

Susan wraps up the class with an introduction to smocking. Learn the basic steps of pleating and marking, as well as simple hand stitches that create smocking’s characteristic designs. Susan’s lovely sample garments will inspire you!