Wedding Garter: 30 Days of Heirloom Sewing Annie Laura Sews Day 2

Attending a wedding in 1915– what would it be like? The fun of writing fiction is that I get to do exactly that–attend my grandmother’s 1915 wedding. In fictional form, at least. You can read about what I imagine her wedding to be in Annie Laura’s Triumph, my first book about the life of my grandmother and great grandmother. It will be out September 1 of this year from Mercer University Press. You can pre-order here at Amazon, or here at Mercer University Press.

I love combing through old heirloom sewing magazines for inspiration for new projects with Cluny Lace. I admit, I’m obsessed with Cluny Lace (you can see the beautiful detail above), and order it directly from the English factory. (Click to read more). The same machines that have created lace for royal weddings from the 19th century are still in operation, most recently for The Duchess of Cambridge, Kate Middleton’s wedding gown. Think Downton Abbey and all of those lovely, lacy Edwardian gowns. Or, my own grandmother.

Here is my grandmother on her wedding day in 1915.

Her mother loved to sew–she owned a dry goods store first in Southport, Florida and later in Panama City in the early 1900s. I can just imagine her sewing this lovely Swiss eyelet wedding dress.

Here are my grandparents in their horse and buggy on their way to their new home.

Since my youngest daughter’s March wedding called for a new bridal garter, and I was thrilled to find instructions in a 1998, Sew Beautiful magazine. I’ve modified Tonya Jensen’s instructions for the Janome Skyline S7, with really easy and fun results. You can find the instructions here at Janome.com.
This pattern works just as well for prom as it does for weddings. Enjoy creating your own one-of-a-kind heirloom garter!

Milinda Sews

National Educator, Baby Lock