If you missed part 1 of the Slip Sew-Along, you can see it HERE.
If you’re ready to add the lace waistband to your skirt, I’m ready to show you how. We’re going to start with the cream lace slip today.
First set your machine stitch length to 2 or slightly less if you like.
Place a piece of paper (any kind…notebook, copy, etc) under your presser foot. It helps stabilize your first few stitches on the lace.
Place the left upper corner of your gathered slip right side up on top of the paper and straighten out the top ruffled edge. You can take your fingers and smooth out the top edge and make your gathers even.
Take your lace waistband and lay it on top, covering about 3/8″ to 1/2″ of the gathered up lace. You don’t have to worry about laying it all the way across the skirt right now… just work in small 1-2″ sections at a time. You’re going to want to stitch a row across the gathers about 1/4″ from the bottom edge of your stretchy lace. This will just hold it in place until you stitch the next row.
Slightly stretch the lace and sew for an inch or so… then straighten your lace…keeping it perpendicular to the presser foot. AND REMEMBER TO KEEP YOUR NEEDLE IN THE DOWN POSITION WHEN YOU STOP TO ADJUST YOUR GATHERS!
Keep doing that all the way across…straighten the gathers, lay the lace on top, slightly stretch it, stitch for an inch or so, keep your needle down, and do it again… all the way across.
It helps if you guide the slip with your left hand and use your fingers to straighten the gathers, and use your right hand to gently pull the slip from the back. ( I couldn’t take a picture of me doing that since I only have 2 hands!) :o)
As you stitch across the stretchy lace, keep an eye on your gathers, letting a few out as you need, so they are evenly distributed across your slip. If you end up with a few extra inches of your tulle or lace slip it’s okay… better to have it be too long than too short.
It should look like this… when you get all the way across.
DON’T CUT YOUR GATHERING THREADS!
Now you’ll have to go back and stitch it a second time because this lace has a scalloped edge. If you have a stretch lace that has a straight bottom edge, you can just stich it across catching the bottom edge with your second row.
The lace I am using has a scalloped edge, so I generally set my machine to the tiniest zigzag stitch and I sort of pivot around the scallops. You don’t have to do that if you don’t want to.
REMEMBER TO KEEP YOUR NEEDLE IN THE DOWN POSITION AS YOU STTICH ACROSS.
Now you can flip your slip over and tear off that paper. The sewing machine needle perforates it and it’s easy to remove.
It’s time for your doll to try it on now. You can wrap it around her and pin it and stand back and admire what you’ve done so far if you want. :o)
As you look closely at your slip, you’ll see all those gathering threads making a mess of your slip. Now it’s time to remove them. Grab them one at a time and gently pull them and they should slide right out. Sometimes your needle might catch one… pull it out as far as you can and then snip it carefully if it is caught. You’ll have 2 rows to remove and don’t forget the bobbin threads on the back side.
You basically want to remove any unsightly threads that are showing below your lace waistband.
You’re ALMOST finished… Can you believe it?
Take your slip to your doll and place the RIGHT side against her body. You’ll want to find out how tight to make it around her waist. Put a pin where you think it looks best and weave your pin through the lace… then slide your slip over your dolls hips to make sure it slides up and down easily.
Take the slip with the pin in it to your sewing machine. Place another piece of paper down under the presser foot. Lay your slip down with the pin still in it. (It helps if you move the pin to the front side and have it with the point facing upward so you can slide it out without and trouble when you start sewing.)
Set your machine back to a 2 stitch length if you had it on a tiny zig zag. Begin sewing where the pin is, knotting the upper edge and sew all the way to the bottom of the lace slip.
Straighten out the lace on the skirt part and try to line up your bottom edges as much as possible.
Tear away the paper on the back side.
Trim the edges where you just stitched to about 1/2″ or so. Trim off any extra threads you see too.
Then open the seam up and pin it. You’ll want to stitch across the 2 end flaps to make a neater looking slip. Remember to use a piece of paper under the 2 flaps you are stitching down… it won’t get sucked down into your machine if you do.
As to the bottom edge. I like to fold the edges at an angle if they are kind of hanging down. Sometimes a lace has a really scalloped hem and you don’t want that showing.
Trim your threads again and try it on your doll. Center the back seam on the doll and place a pin where you want to sew a ribbon or a flower or a rose on. I chose a little blue ribbon rose for Nellie’s cream slip.
NOW you can take a look at what you just did and give yourself a pat on the back! GREAT JOB!
Now I’ll show you how to finish the white tulle slip. I don’t have as many pictures, because my camera battery died and I’m having to use my phone. You can refer to the directions above for the cream lace slip if you need a better understanding of what I’m referring to.
Take your gathered up “tulle by the yard” slip and lay it on a piece of paper which is under the presser foot. This tulle is soft but stiff at the same time. I guess I’d say the stiffness is the body in it. It holds its shape very well and is very easy to make.
Place your stretch lace on top of the edge of the tulle and overlap it about 1/2″ or so. Then put your needle down at the end of it and stitch a few stitches to secure it. Stitch about 1/4″ from the bottom edge of the lace, distributing your gathers if need be. Just take your fingers and slide them toward you a quarter of an inch at a time. Once you’ve made a slip it gets very easy to see if the slip needs to have a few gathers released or not.
Stitch all the way across your lace.
Then because this is that scalloped lace again, you’ll have to stitch it down at the bottom again. I am pivoting mine again as I go around the scalloped edge.
NOW YOU MAY REMOVE THOSE BLACK BASTING THREADS…
Take the slip to your doll and put the right side to her body. (wrong side out) Place a pin where you think it fits her waist the best.
Slide it off her legs and take it to your machine. Place a piece of paper again under the presser foot. Line up your sewing machine needle with the pin and begin to sew down the back of the slip. You should knot it at the top by reversing your stitching..,. then go to the bottom of the hem.
Trim off the excess and finger press open.
Stitch the seam open at the top edge and the bottom edge to hold your slip next to your dolls body nicely.
Decide on what kind of embellishment you want on the slip and hand sew it on.
You can slide the slips up and down on your doll if you have a shorter dress or a longer one… Wear it up high for the shorter dress and down low on her hips if you have a longer dress.
You can also separate the layers of tulle to make the slip hold out your dresses even more.
Viola! You did it! I’m so proud of those of you who did your slip using this tulle! Congratulations on a job well done!
Now we’ll do the purple slip with the tulle on the spool. It should be a piece of cake by now, if you’ve read the above directions. So this slip will be kind of a recap of the 2 I showed you.
The purple tulle slip looks like it is THICK, but it’s not…actually it’s thin and easy to work with.
Place a piece of paper down under the presser foot and lay your purple tulle slip on the paper, lining up the corner with the bottom edge of the stretch lace.
Stitch about 1/4″ from the bottom edge of the white lace, catching the back side of the gathers.
Stitch all the way across the lace and tulle, distributing and fingering the tulle so the gathers are even.
Now because this lace is scalloped at the bottom, you’ll need to stitch it down. I use a narrow zig zag stitch and pivot as I go around the curved scallops.
YOU CAN NOW REMOVE THE BLACK BASTING THREADS. PULL THEM OUT GENTLY AS THIS IS THE MOST DELICATE TULLE OF THE SLIPS WE’VE MADE.
Wrap the slip with the right side touching your dolls body (wrong side out) and place a pin vertically where the waist is most comfortable. Make sure it slides down over your dolls hips easily. Take it to your sewing machine and place another piece of paper down before you stitch up the back from the pin and down.
When you finish that, remove the paper and open the seam. Stitch it down with your machine.
Now it’s time to try on the slip with the back seam centered, and decide on an embellishment. I chose a purple ribbon rose for Rebecca’s slip.
You may see a little indentation where the 3rd black thread was stitched across the tulle. It has been scrunched up tight for a few days and should relax over night.
The directions are MUCH MORE detailed in the first slip of this post… If you need to, go back and read those directions again.
Here are all 3 slips I made. The girls wanted to show you in a group picture.
Okay…it’s official…I’m sick of slips! 89 pictures taken the last 2 days… actually 89 pictures “cropped” but more were actually taken. My camera is toast and my phone is not too far behind. I’ve got to make some decisions soon.
I hope you learned something from the slip tutorial. I know the pictures got fewer and fewer as I got toward the end… I decided the instructions from the first slip were good enough to refer back to. I hope you will. If you make a slip and have any questions, I’ll be glad to help you.
NOW… Marilyn sent me this link since it’s Election Day! I hope you’ll find time to get out and vote! You can see this FLAG by clicking HERE.
Have a wonderful Tuesday,
See you tomorrow,
Blessings, Jeanne
Jeanne, You make it look so easy. Need to drag out my tulle and elastic lace and make one or two slips.
Very awesome tutorial.
HI Lynn,
It really is pretty easy…but all the pictures and “talk” make it seem complicated… It’s basically this…
cut your tulle or lace
gather up the top edge
stitch on your stretch lace
sew up the back
embellish…
that’s all…and you have a new slip!
Thanks Lynn,
Blessings, Jeanne
Very nice tutorial, Jeanne, and once again, your pictures and descriptions are wonderful. Yes, I think you gave enough close pictures of the first slip, that we should all be able to follow easily, regardless of the material we’ve used for slips. I think I even did one with a silky fabric once–of course, it had to be hemmed, and raw edges finished, but this technique (well, my version of it) worked well for that, too.
I was also glad to see the picture (8th one down) showing the back side of the paper thru which you stitch–it clearly shows the first row is straight stitch (which I somehow missed in the reading) and the second row is zigzag. I didn’t realize there were two rows of stitches across the top that way, so that was a good clarification for me.
And, thanks for sharing the link that Marilyn sent! I didn’t realize there was a suffragette flag!
HI Charlotte,
I’m so glad you enjoyed the slip making process….all 89 pictures. I guess I could have said the slips could be made out of eyelet…I’ve done that before. Also you could use fabric I suppose… I just didn’t think of that.
If my camera hadn’t died, I could have taken better pictures. My phone is such a process to sort out the pictures… I think I’m selecting one when I’m actually getting the one I didn’t want. It’s much easier to see what I am uploading with my camera. I think I’ll have to get a new camera before a new phone.
That 2 rows of stitching helps keep the back top edge of the gathers from folding down. If you just stitched one row it would fold over and make it pretty bulky around your dolls waist.
Thanks Charlotte,
Blessings, Jeanne
My friend Nikki sent me the link to the flag that represents the states where women could vote by 1900. Only one of the women who signed the Declaration of Sentiment in 1848 lived to vote.
Now that you have 3 beautiful new slips, Jeanne, what are you going to do with them?
I finally signed up to get the blog on my email and it came — but it was yesterday’s post. Fortunately Linda sent me a link to today’s post. Many thanks, Linda.
Hi Marilyn,
Thanks for the link to the flag.. I didn’t know there was a Suffragette flag either. I’d love to see it up close and personal! Wow…that’s pretty incredible.
A lady emailed me about slips a while back and I lost her email address…. I just found it on the back side of a piece of paper and I’m going to email her first to see if she “still” wants one… she’s waited a long time… my bad!!!
I still don’t know what’s going on with my blog… I wonder how many others are getting it a day behind… Sarah is leaving for Kenya the first of December but she promised to get with me before she leaves, so maybe we can figure out something again… I was hoping it had straightened itself out… guess not!
Thanks Marilyn,
Blessings, Jeanne
Hi Jeanne – thank you so much for this wonderful slip tutorial. You have a great way of explaining the steps and your photos really help. I can’t wait to make one. I have out of town company for a few days so I will be a little behind.
Thanks again for sharing.
HI Leigh,
I hope you are having a nice time with your company… slip making can wait for a rainy day! If you get a chance, I hope you give it a try!
Blessings, Jeanne
I’m a bit late,but have been busy this morning. All three of you slips turned out just beautifully! Yes, now what are you going to do with those lovely slips???
Oh my gosh,the leaves are falling faster than I can keep up with! It’s a nice daily here,but windy, but at least we can vote without having to deal with raindrlops and umbrellas.
Thanks to Marilyn for sending us the link to the suffragette flag! Now let’s all go out and vote!
HI Linda.
I haven’t decided what to do with the slips just yet… but I will.
Yes, our leaves are falling like snowflakes. They got clogged up in our gutters and it forced the rain into a puddle on our roof and it started leaking into our master bathroom… Ugh… what a mess… I think we need a new roof… double Ugh! :o(
I voted early with my mom… George voted this morning.
Thanks Linda,
Blessings, Jeanne
Oh, the slips look wonderful! Hoping to get started tomorrow.
We spend literally all day yesterday removing the old water heater, mopping up, finding a new one that doesn’t have an electrified starter, getting help loading it onto the truck from a very nice random stranger (must have taken pity on the old folks), another trip to HD for supplies, etc. etc. etc. The major part was getting one that would fit in the tiny closet space. Just does by an inch I think. Today, we’ll turn on the gas and hope there are no leaks. Too tired to do that last night. But, I must say, this installation was much easier than that at the cabin a few years ago. At least we didn’t have to drag the thing down a steep dirt path and drive three hours with it in the back of the truck. 🙂 However, I think now we need This Old House to come and install new flooring. A little warped on the edge now.
Question: Since, I have never used the zigzag on my machine, would it be possible to just stitch around the scallops on the lace edge? or is that zig zag part of the function of applying the stretch lace? And any idea what the machine stitch length is set to as standard? Is the 2 setting shorter or longer stitches? I’m clueless here.
HI Joy,
Oh it sounds like you had a “wonderful” day yesterday… NOT! What a pain that must have been… sometimes home improvement projects just aren’t fun!
Yes, you can just use a straight stitch when you stitch your lace on… I just use the tiny zigzag because it’s easier to pivot around the curved edges that when I’m doing a straight stitch.
2 is the standard stitch length… it goes from 0 which is hardly a stitch at all… to 4 which is the longest stitch most machines make. You some time to practice on your new machine!
I wish I lived closer so we could explore your new machine together! :o)
Thanks Joy,
Blessings, Jeanne
I always remember that my mother was five years old before women achieved the right to vote. It was passed just 21 years before I was born! Imagine and pass along the history.
Great tutorial and pictures. You could have made this last all week, there was so much information. And it’s all there is two days. Beautifully done and many thanks for the tips.
I, too, get the blog email but it is for yesterday’s blog. I click on the blue line of type and then onComments and scroll down to Recent Posts and there it is: Today’s blog by title.
Hi Susette,
It’s so easy to take it for granted that women have the right to vote. I’m so glad we do have that right!
I almost wish I HAD taken all week to do the slip tutorial… it was a lot of work… all those pictures and stopping to write down what I was doing and any tips I had to share took way longer than I though it would. I probably could have made a dozen slips in the time it took to “show” how to make 3! Oh well… move on Jeanne!
I’m so sorry you are one of the ones getting the posts a day late… I NEED to talk to someone who knows why this is happening…
Thanks Susette,
Blessings, Jeanne
Ugh, the misspellings above! Hate iPads!
Linda,
Don’t worry about the typos… it happens to everyone… we know what you meant!
~ Jeanne
Linda, Jeanne is right. I read through your comment quickly and didn’t even notice any misspellings and when you mentioned it here I had to go back up and see what I missed. I am always having to edit my comments on my Facebook posts because my keyboard has some glitches and when I type quickly it misses letters. (I intend to switch out the keyboard, but have been delaying because it’s an ergonomic one that I am used to.)
Dear Team Jeanne,
You sewed and won! Way to go! Sewwwwwww Good!
Phew being a cheerleader is exhausting (laugh).
Seriously, I enjoyed seeing the photographs. That is a ton of work! You sewing folks are very talented.
Hi Dorothy,
Way to go CHEERLEADER DOROTHY!
Thanks for your cheering us on!
Now go take a nap! :o)
Thanks so much,
Blessings, Jeanne
I finished the tulle part of my slip this morning and just came in to get the rest of the instructions. As soon as they print out I’ll take them to my sewing room and finish up this afternoon. After I vote. Waiting for my hubby to get home so we can go together. I loved the suffragette flag and had no idea there was such a thing. I had always assumed all women got the right in 1920 when the law was ratified. I just went back and read up on the history of women’s suffrage. I knew my grandmother could vote, but I just did the math and realized she was 24 when women’s suffrage was passed. That is three years older than I was when I could vote the first time – it was 21 back then. My grandmother was a married woman with two children by the time she could vote.
Good for you Barbara,
I’m glad you are making a slip… and I hope you like it when it’s done.
I’m glad you too, enjoyed the information about the Suffragette flag. I didn’t know about it either… Wow… what would our ancestors think about it all today? I can’t imagine!
Thanks Barbara,
Blessings, Jeanne
Just chiming in on the blog arrivals. I am still receiving two. One from Jeanne and one from I Dream of Jeanne Marie. One arrives on the correct day and the other a day late except occasionally they arrive on the same day. Don’t know why. Just one of those mysteries.
HI Joy,
Yes, it truly is a mystery…and one I wish I could SOLVE!
Thanks, Jeanne
I’m going to try to get a slip put together tomorrow. I dithered because my stretch lace isn’t like yours and I don’t want to drive to town for more. I decided to just go with what I have tomorrow. I’ll send a photo when I’m finished and you ladies can be surprised because mine will be very unlike the others in the group.
Jeanne, I didn’t receive your email so not sure if I signed up right or not so I can sign up here again.
I sew but haven’t sewn much lately as my RA is really bothering my joints.
HI Sandra,
If you signed up using the form at the right side bar, that was the right way…I am still having some hiccups with my posts not arriving on the right day for some ladies…I’m trying to find someone who can help me get it figured out…
I’m so sorry about your RA…that must be hard to deal with when you want to sew…
Blessings, Jeanne