In 1948 a Swiss mountaineer and inventor came back from a walk only to find his clothes and dog covered in burs. George de Mestral looked at the burrs under a microscope and discovered that the hard stiff hooks of the burrs clung to the soft fabric of his pants. He decided he would invent a product that would do the same thing and and invented velcro, a product to rival the zipper. The name Velco is the combination of of the words velour and crochet. His product was patented in 1955.
I just love saying this word. It sounds so smart. Passementerie! It’s french, but of course, darling. It means, ornamental trimming for a garment, such as braiding, lace, or metallic beads. It’s all that good stuff we love to add to our clothing, drapery and anything else we can stitch, glue or staple it on to.
KNOW YOUR TRIMS
• Gimp, the narrowest of the flat trims, traditionally is used to cover upholstery tacks. It can also embellish raised designs and may have a decorative cord or be woven into a pattern. Shell gimp has a scalloped edge that allows it to follow the curves of the furniture.
• Braid, tape, and galloon are simply wider versions of gimp and can either be woven flat or done in raised openwork. They are often used to edge draperies, valances, cornices, bed linens, and the skirts of upholstered furniture.
• Piping or welting consists of a cord covered with fabric that is cut on the bias to add flexibility. It could also be covered with braid. Piping or welting is often sewn into the seams of cushions or pillows and used to cover upholstery tacks.
• Cord consists of plied yarns twisted together into a rope. The edge of a plain tape may be sewn to the cord so it can be inserted into the seams of upholstery in place of piping. Cords often edge wall upholstery, draperies, and valances or serve as festoons over swags.
• Borders are flat-weave trims similar to gimp and braid but are wider, measuring up to 6 inches.
• Fringe has a decorative heading, with hanging threads, cords, or tassels. The threads can be cut, looped, or twisted, as in a bullion, or they may support beads, tassels, or even shells. Fringe is inserted in the seams of cushions and pillows or hung from the edges of draperies, lampshades, window shades, table skirts, cornices, swags, and jabots.
It’s all passementerie, my dear.