Fringe is a decorative trim edging made of packed yarns that hang from a band (imagine the 1920’s flapper dresses)
Cord is a round, twisted strand of roped fibers with unique textures. It comes lipped and non-lipped.
Braid is a flat home decor trim with two finished edges and a braided design throughout.
Each offers its own special touch to not only windows and home furnishings, but to just about anything it touches!
Dear Netfah,
I am an artist and do-it-your-selfer from the millenial generation who inherited bags of assorted trim and cording from my grandmother who was a seamstress for what seems like FOREVER! One of my past time hobbies is refurbishing and reupholstering antique furnishings into funky works of art. There is a big project I agreed to do for a client of mine that requires corded scarlet trim around the perimeters of her dining room chairs but I am short yardage of the particular color she wants. I do however, have the same exact color in a lipped version.
Originating out of Istanbul, Turkey and one of the leading manufacturing mills for window dressings and trim, Trimland is making a name for itself with their versatile, eye-catching selection of trims and funky string curtains for home, work, or play.
Available in more than 500 assorted styles, colors and specifications, their curtains come in made-to-measure customized widths of between 30-500 cm and heights between 45-1100 cm allowing the imagination to dictate just how creative you may want to be with your design vision. With their easy to hang options even the novice do-it-yourself-er can turn an ordinary space into an EXTRA-ordinary experience.
Before the Industrial Revolution (18th Century), trim was called passementerie. It was made and applied by hand, thus making heavily trimmed furnishings and garments expensive and high status. Eventually machine-woven trims and sewing machines put these specialized trimmings within reach of modest dressmakers and home seamstresses. The result, by the 1930’s, applied trim lost its value and became a signifier of mass-produced clothing. Today, though most trimmings are commercially manufactured, the creative appeal that they offer have made trims, tassels and cording highly sought after for unique one-of-a-kind creations. A compliment to any fabric project where that ‘something extra’ makes all the difference, modern day passementeries offer the perfect touch.
Have you ever noticed how challenging even the simplest sewing projects or most routine steps suddenly become when our emotions come into play? Seems when our mood is light and upbeat, our fabric flows thru our machine with more ease, our stitchwork is more on point, even little nuances like ripping out a seam or altering a mistake just seem par the course. But when our mood is heavy and our ‘sewjo’ is off, all hell breaks loose. It’s almost as if our sadness, anger, stress or residue from the day, is emitted off of us and then reflected back to us the same. As a result, what normally takes five minutes to repair, can take fifteen or even fifty. That dress fabric that you sewed together the wrong way, is now being fixed for the umpteenth time, and it’s almost as if a naughty little elf came and swiped the piece of Baroque trim from the table you placed it on less than two minutes ago. Yeah, the same trim that you scoured the local craft marketplace all day for to complete your sitting room valance. In the midst of all the madness, now it appears your mind is playing tricks on you!
” A week before Christmas my true love gave to me…
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“… And a cart full of wonderful NFL, MLB & Novelty Fleece under the Christmas tree!!”
Wouldn’t it be great if our Christmas wish lists could be fulfilled everyday? Well at J&O Fabrics, it can! With fabric discounts, special offers and cool contests running on a regular, there’s always something on your wish list that we can fill with just a call or click of a button! From fun novelty cotton prints and warm polar fleeces in your favorite major league sport teams, to our top shelf decorative fabrics and beautiful upholsteries, we make it easy for Santa to fill his gift bag in just one stop.
Far be it from me to judge another on their sense of style and dress, but I have to say, out of all the interesting and creative design concepts that walked across the red carpet during Sunday nights 62nd Annual Emmy Awards, the very mod retro yet slightly DIY inspired dress and shoe set worn by the lovely Rita Wilson kind of rubbed me the wrong way. It wasn’t the crystal mesh gown from Prada that struck a cord with me as much as the coordinated crystal drop chandelier heels that really had me reminiscing about the art and craft classes from my youth. And though I was pleased to see Rita with a little less cleavage showing, I was a bit disappointed at the visual decadence none the less.
In between getting my son ready for bed, doing a late load of clothes for the week, and sipping on a very satisfying glass of mango juice, I managed to sneak in an occasional peak or two of the 2010 Emmy Awards this past Sunday night. Much to my disappointment, I found myself loosing excitement as one by one, presenter, nominee, and winner were captured on camera in designer threads and do-it-yourself selections. And as the human side of my nature created its own ‘pros’ and ‘cons’ list in my head at the ensembles that appeared before me, my appreciation for individual expression and sympathy towards those who just don’t know any better when it comes to dressing the bodies they have been blessed with, silenced my ego’s desire to judge to harshly. Instead I either shook or nodded my head as a sign of my silent approval or there lack of, and kept to my business at hand. That is, until Kelly showed up.
Every once and awhile we come across a blog other than our own that speaks to the ideas and topics we as seamstresses and craftsmen(women) have interest in. Whether it’s a new technique, sewing gadget or application, or the latest trend in fabrics and textile goods, if it has to do with our livlihood, we want to know!
It would be just the other day that I would stumble across this blog as I was searching for ideas to expound on for our own Facebook sewing tip of the day. For both novices and experts alike, this simple breakdown of four basic stitches has its way of coming in handy long after our first needle has been thread many years ago.
Dear Netfah,
My grandmother passed away last year and left a wealth of fabrics and materials from her life as an interior designer and upholsterer for some of Hollywoods A-list celebs. My daughter is interested in following in her footsteps and is slowly but surely nurturing her design skills and upholstering hand. I found what I beleive to be vinyl welting among her containers of goods and wondered what it was used for. Any insight?
signed,
Grandmother’s Welting
Dear Grandmother’s Welting,
