Day 18 – A little rouleau… and a history lesson.

People who take my heirloom sewing/fabric manipulation classes get a bit of a history lesson while we sew the projects.

I’m working on rouleau trim in quilt blocks. Rouleau means a a roll of a strip, which is how this trim is made. Mine is hand done so that I can get the proper thinness, but there are turners for this kind of tube if you want to make it by machine.

Rouleau has been made as dress and coat trims for hundreds of years! If it looks familiar, it may be because you have seen rouleau used as button holes, such as the fancy kind down the backs of wedding dresses in those little loops. Would you like to see more heirloom sewing ideas? Leave a comment on Facebook to let me know!