On Sewing With Lace

A few months ago, I went to a sewing meet-up at the Met for a lace exhibit. I looked at some gorgeous pieces of lace that were set out, and I was lucky enough to chat with the curator of the exhibit. Later her assistant came out the office and gave us a tour of her favorite pieces of lace in the museum.

In between oohing and ahhing over each beautiful, hand woven piece, I would lament that I really wanted to work with lace, but I was far too intimidated to begin because it was so difficult. A few of the other ladies nodded their heads in agreement, but one did not.

Marina at Frabjous Couture shook her head and said that lace was in fact easy to work with. She said other things about it that I don't really remember (it was a few months ago!), but what I remember the most was her look of confusion and bewilderment at my statement.

Since then, I've often thought about jersey, my most favorite material to wear ever, and how many people are afraid to sew with it. And sure it takes a few extra minutes (or hours) to get the hang of it on your machine, but in the end, it works and you're not sure what ever took you so long to get on board. I'm hoping that's how it goes with lace!

In preparation for the Pushing Daisies sew along, I've been researching the best types of lace and different tips and I've compiled them all below. If you have any other tips or page suggestions, let me know and I'll update!

Selecting Lace:
Heavy laces, such as Alencon or Cluny are best for fitted silhouettes.
Lightweight laces, such as Chantilly, are best for full skirts and sleeves, as well as ruffles.

Select amount of lace fabric with the pattern in mind or you may find you won't have enough to do long sleeves with a scalloped edge, for example.

Fabric Care:
If the lace states it is washable, then you should pre-shrink it per normal. Most laces are dry clean only.

Lace is usually starched stiff when you purchase it, so a nice soak is usually needed before you begin working with it. Soak Wash is usually recommended and available at Amazon, but any mild detergent should work. Let it air dry flat.

After washing or soaking the lace, if you're working with lace trims, you should spray starch on it to stiffen it back up and make it easier to work with and feed through your machine.

Cutting Fabric:
Lay the lace out fully before cutting to notice patterns. Match as best as possible, as you would with a large print pattern.

Use complete pattern pieces if possible instead of half pattern pieces to ensure the lace pattern matches.

Sewing Lace:
Sew with a narrow stitch or narrow zig-zag stitch.

Pressing:
Take great care when pressing lace. Using a press cloth to prevent the iron from snagging is recommended, as is a low temperature setting.

Finger pressing seams, darts, and other details is best. Finger press by pressing firmly while wearing a thimble. If more pressing is necessary, steam lightly before continuing to finger press.

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