I spent part of last evening working on the fuchsia Cynthia Rowley party dress, and I just love it when I come across a lined bodice without neck or armhole facings, as it’s the best opportunity to do some beautiful prick-stitching!
Contrast prick-stitching is not for the faint of heart, but I enjoy both the process, and the finished result.
I haven’t done it very often before, just on my wedding gown and my silver & turquoise motif dress if I recall correctly, but I just love the feel of those tiny dots against the slippery lining inside. Here it’s made all the better by using fuchsia thread against the black lining. Yeah, I could’ve used black thread to do this, but where’s the fun in that?!
What’s prick-stitching? Essentially, an uneven backstitch used to attach the lining to the seam allowance of the fashion fabric (without going through to the outside). If you’re right handed, you work left to right, and the key is consistent spacing, both between stitches, and from your stitching to the garment edge. The same thing can be achieved with a machine by understitching, but doesn’t look half as beautiful!
PS: Some of you may have missed the 20% off buttons code I added to yesterday’s post! Go check it out!