our removable seams system
All of our pieces are designed with ‘removable’ seams through our lace hole placement
In this section you will find details of our methods of lacing and attaching straps to our pieces.
These are the methods we use, but there is no right answer!
back ‘corset’ lacing
To thread the lacing further, you will need to use either a small crochet hook or 2 large darning or embroidery needles
Note: if using needles, thread the needles with the cords you wish to pull through and make sure to alternate them to achieve the desired pattern
- untie the cords
- find the next lace hole in the column on the right hand side
- feed your crochet hook through this lace hole from front to back
- pull the cord from through from the left
- now feed your crochet hook in the same way through the next lace hole in the column on the left hand side
- pull the cord through from the right (this cord will be from the lace hole above the one we have just pulled through)
- to continue the pattern of original lacing, thread the right hole then left, repeating this pattern
(see the video below for step by step guide and any queries feel free to contact us here)
strap moving + lacing
To change the set up of the straps, you will need to use either a small crochet hook or 2 large darning or embroidery needles
Note: if using needles, thread the needles with the cords you wish to pull through
Note no. 2: these instructions are for how we lace our tops to minimise lace hole strain, but you could try a variety of different arrangements and set ups! There is no correct answer and you may find another arrangement more comfortable and practical.
- untie and unthread the cords carefully
*** We recommend steaming or hand washing the piece (and drying flat) at this stage as this can help any lace holes that have been strained from wear. Care details can be found here. See before and after steaming below. ***
- work out where you wish the strap to fall on your shoulder. We recommend having someone help you with this step as you will need to work out both the front and back set up.
- track down from this position and find the corresponding rib arrangement containing 3 lines of rib and 3 lace holes. For this example we are threading into the orange ribs on either side of the brown (when the piece is facing out). It does not matter if you were to thread into the brown ribs in this example, just make sure to leave 1 lace hole unthreaded in the centre of your set up.
- feed your crochet hook through the first lace hole from the inside to the outside, skip the central lace hole and then feed the hook back inside the piece
- pull through the cord forming a small ‘stitch’ over the empty lace hole, keeping one tail of the cord long
- with the longer tail, repeat this on the back of the piece
- you should now have one ‘loop’ of strap
- shift the cord until this is the desired length and the two tails of cord are the same length
- now, feed the opposite tail of each cord through the opposite ‘stitch’ on the front and back of the piece
- adjust as desired
- tie the two tails together to form the strap
(see the video below for step by step guide and any queries feel free to contact us here)
steaming lace holes
We recommend steaming or hand washing your pieces whenever you are changing the lacing or strap arrangement.
Steaming in particular can help encourage any lace holes that have been strained from wear to regain more of their original structure.
This image shows lace holes that have been used for strap threading before and after they have been steamed. The steaming has helped the stitches back into a more uniform neckline. This can also be achieved with hand washing, but ensure you dry the piece flat and coax the stitches into a straight line
Further care details can be found here.
