Thoughts on late 18th century pet-en-l’aire trimmings
In preparation for the upcoming High Tea charity fundraiser for Ronald McDonald House I’m trimming my Indienne chintz pet-en-l’aire. I’ve dyed pretty new rayon and cotton ribbons (the closest I could get to silk) to replace the nasty synthetic ones on the front, and am figuring out how to do the ruffled trim. Earlier mid-18th century pet-en-l’aires, like this yellow example, have pinked ruffle trim: But later 18th century examples, the era I am aiming for, have flatter trim that is finished or turned on the edges: I’m trying to figure out exactly how the ruffles are made. I have 3.5 options to make the ruffles shown in the examples above: Option 1: The ruffles are cut in strips more than 2x the width of the ruffles, the sides are folded back and overlapped in the middle, and then the ruffles are sewn down, with the raw edges hidden on the middle underside of the ruffles. Option 2: The ruffles are cut in strips the width of the ruffles, plus turning allowance, and then the …