I've found the perfect trim for my English fitted gown (or Flanders gown, per Arnold)! It's a thick guimp/gimp, about 1/2" wide:
(http://pic100.picturetrail.com/VOL417/1033223/24167320/409562547.jpg)
(It's picking up the light a bit better than the velvet, but it's a dead-on match for the duck green. ;D <--happy costumer. And also, it was $0.75/yard!)
Any suggestions for the nicest way to sew this down? I'm leaning toward tacking it by hand, but I thought I would consult the communal knowledge font....
Gramercy!
I would sew that gorgeous trim close to the edge on each side by machine. Hand sewing will take you forever.
Just my 2 cents worth.
Thanks, Lady K! It is gorgeous, isn't it? I found it at Hobby Lobby, reg. price $1.29/yard. They also had it in a grey-with-yellow colorway... and JoAnn online has several different colors (http://www.joann.com/search?q=Eaton%20Square%203%2F4%27%27%20Gimp-Roswell), too (although they're charging a lot more). They all have really pretty names; wish I knew what mine was called!
Sales are great aren't they?
I have sewn this type by machine, just stay close to the edges as possible-like Lady K said.
You will find the machine stitching blends in well with the weave.
I know the edges are very narrow, but try to avoid sewing into the center area where the ribbon like pattern is. Go slow and it will turn out lovely.
I'd hand tack it down. It wouldn't take long. Just watch a movie and sew it with a whip stitch on the edges. Hand sewing doesn't take as long as people seem to think. Often, I can hand sew something quicker and more neatly than when I machine sew it - figure out I sewed it down wrong, have to take it completely apart, and then sew it up again. :P