How to Hem with Horsehair Braid {A Tutorial}
Hi SLPco friends, Victoria Strong again!! With Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas right around the corner, it’s time to start thinking about your girl’s special occasion dress. A question I see time and time again is: How do I make it poofy?
Here is one way to add big volume – Horse Hair Braid. If you haven’t heard of this way of hemming, I’m here to make your day, and your special occasion dress even more special. Horse hair braid is strands of plastic braided together, kind of like those finger traps from the dollar store, but in ribbon form. It’s not at all hard to find, in fact, I just buy mine from Amazon! You can buy it in different lengths and widths. I used 2 inch width.
Today I’m going to show you how to hem with horse hair braid.
Step 1:
Gather your materials! You will need
•Horse hair braid
•Scissors
•Thread
•Sewing machine
•Your favourite unhemmed SLPco dress or skirt (I used Elouise!)
•Lots of pins
•Double fold bias tape
Step 2:
Because the plastic of the braid can be scratchy against the skin, it is best to put a bit of bias tape on the end you start with.
Cut a piece of bias tape to fit the width of the braid and sew it on. It’s important to do this on the end of that you start with, and I’ll explain why later.
Step 3:
Pin the braid to the RIGHT SIDE of your skirt at the raw edge, and sew using a 1/4″ seam allowance. It is very important not to let the braid stretch while you sew.
Step 4:
Cut the end of the braid so that it overlaps your bias tape end, and finish sewing over the bias tape to secure.
Step 5:
Flip the braid all the way over to the WRONG SIDE and press. Avoid pressing the braid itself, and just press the fabric. Make sure that the bottom edge of the braid is taut without stretching the braid. Pin at the top of the braid and top stitch, again, without letting the braid stretch.
And voila! The easiest way to add volume to a skirt. You can do this with circle skirts or gathered skirts! Here is my special occasion Halloween dress with a three-tiered gathered organza skirt. I used all three skirt lengths in the Elouise pattern for the tiers.
