Despite all the sophistication and originality, openwork sewing and lace is considered a material that poses many problems when processing. However, products in the manufacture of which are used openwork lace, they look simply amazing. Lingerie, airy blouses, wedding dresses - all this invariably attracts the eye. But simply sewing a product using this beautiful decoration is not enough; you also need to know how to sew lace correctly so that the look is flawless and stylish.
So, let's start a master class on sewing lace to fabrics. For this purpose we will need a needle, thread, scissors and the lace itself.
Before you start sewing, it is advisable to wash the lace, because it can shrink, which will cause the fabric to tighten. After washing, lay it inside out on a soft surface and iron it - this way the relief of the lace pattern will be completely preserved. If you just want to sew the lace to the fabric without making any gathers, then place the edge of the lace overlapping the edge of the fabric and baste. Then you need to sew it with a machine using a zigzag seam, but you can also use regular stitches. It is advisable to select threads that are the same as the color of the lace. You can also sew it in a similar way, but only in this case the folded edge of the fabric will be located on top - then the color of the threads should match the color of the fabric.
If you expect the lace to have folds or gathers, then it is first better to machine sew it with a wide stitch along the edge, gather it with thread, baste it to the product, and then sew it with a zigzag stitch.
How to sew lace to fabric using regular or bow folds?
It's not difficult - you just need to take material with a repeating pattern. Pinch folds (counter or regular) at regular intervals and immediately baste to the edge of the product. In this case, it is allowed to sew lace not only on the edge, but also in the middle of the item, which is often used for finishing.
You can sew lace in the middle of the product - along the yoke, at regular intervals along the entire length. You can choose the type of seam at your discretion - a simple stitch or a zigzag stitch.
To sew on the sewing (usually only one side is finished), it is better to lay the main fabric on top. In this situation, it is best to use some kind of decorative stitch - any modern machine has a sufficient number of them programmed. Threads can be chosen in matching or contrasting colors.
Sometimes it becomes necessary to sew lace elements to each other. If you use a regular stitch, the seam will turn out thick and ugly, it will seem to “cut” the design. To avoid this, it is better to use lace with a reserve in order to use another stitching method. Carefully cut out the design along the contour with sharp scissors, apply it to the other part so that the pattern on one piece is harmoniously combined with the other. Secure with needles, baste along the contour, and then you can sew with a machine using a zigzag seam.
Sew straight and figured lace
Lace inserts look very beautiful and impressive. If you want to sew such an insert from straight lace, then baste it to the fabric with the right side up and sew closer to the edge. Cut out the fabric from the wrong side, fold the edges and hem with an over-the-edge seam.
It is better to sew figured lace not on a machine, but by hand. Place it right side to the fabric, baste along the curved edges with small stitches. Cut the fabric from the wrong side and hem the edges.
We hope that the information on how to sew lace correctly will be useful to you. You can also find a lot of other interesting and useful information on our website.
You can use lace to make an evening dress or everyday dress, skirt, top, blouse or trousers. Moreover, the item can be either completely lace or combined with other material. And, of course, you can decorate individual elements of clothing with lace (collars, cuffs, bottom of the dress) or make spectacular appliques from it.
2. Seam allowance cuts can be overlocked with an overlocker or processed using silk bias binding.
3. If you are sewing a dress, tight top or skirt, keep in mind: it is easiest to fit a product made of knitted lace.
4. If you want the product to be opaque, choose a suitable lining. For example, for knitted lace, a knitted lining is suitable, preferably made from natural fibers. If you want the lace design to be more visible, choose a lining that is a different tone than the lace (darker, lighter, or a contrasting color).
5. Elastic lace is very stretchy, so it is better to reinforce the shoulder seams by sewing on cotton bias tape.
6. It is better to choose a model with a minimum number of seams, so as not to cut the lace and spoil it beautiful pattern. Darts are not made on lace; it is better to transfer them, for example, to the side seam (to the waist line).
7. Lace can be used to duplicate both the entire product and its individual parts. You can choose silk, satin, satin or light wool as the base fabric. It is necessary to cut out the parts from the main fabric and from the lace, and baste the lace parts along the contour onto the parts from the main material. Then you can sew the product as a single layer.
8. If the lace has scallops at the edges, they can be used to decorate the bottom of the product, sleeves and neckline. In this case, it is necessary to position the pattern in such a way that the bottom of the dress, skirt or top is cut out without allowances along the scallops. This option will not only look beautiful, but will also make it easier to process the product - you won’t have to hem the bottom or process the neckline.
9. If you want to decorate a dress or other item with lace applique, simply secure the lace to the fabric using paper tape. It is easily pierced with a needle, leaves no marks and is easily removed from the material (if the fabric on which you plan to make an applique is very delicate, try doing this operation on an unnecessary piece). Next, simply stitch the lace with a zigzag and carefully remove the applique stabilizer from the wrong side.
10. Iron the lace very carefully, at low temperature. It's better to try on a small unnecessary piece first. A multifunctional ironing pad can be purchased at the Burda store.
You can sew a variety of models from lace fabric.
Lace is a favorite material for wedding dresses. Although many dressmakers consider working with lace fabric to be very difficult, you will be pleased to know that these difficulties are somewhat exaggerated. The advantage of lace is that it does not need to process the sections and cut them out only along the grain thread. In addition, a good result will reward you for all your efforts.
Properties of lace.
Lace fabric for a wedding dress, as a rule, has a complex pattern. The popular lace tulle, like many other types of lace fabric, has a mesh (or honeycomb) as a base, on which the pattern is repeated and protruding loops (picot) along the scallops.High-quality lace fabrics are very thin, they can be decorated with hand or machine embroidery, braid, ribbons, sequins, pearls, beads or seed beads. The honeycomb structure of lace fabric allows you to ignore the direction of the grain thread and work creatively with patterned motifs and scallops.
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Lace fabrics and canvases are usually of small width and are used for cutting yokes, trims or appliqués. Sometimes the entire bodice and sleeves are made from lace fabric. Machine-made lace has patterned repeats along its entire length and not always scallops and processed edges. Some motifs of such lace are repeated quite often and can be cut into strips to finish the edges of the product. You can also choose well-matching strips for finishing the edges of lace parts.
Layout of lace patterns.
Lace fabric can be used for the entire dress or just for its individual parts. When purchasing lace fabric, pay attention to how much material is required in terms of the pattern as well as the layout of the lace patterns.Think if you can the best way use this lace fabric for your project.
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See how the lace itself, its pattern, weight and density will combine with the style of your dress. Consider the direction of cutting the lace: will you need to cut it lengthwise, widthwise, or cut out individual patterns or edges with scallops.
Look carefully at the lace pattern: can you use individual sections of it for finishing? You can decorate the edges of the product with lace scallops, in addition, you can decorate the product with lace appliqués or edge the lace edges with braid. Depending on the type and weight of the lace fabric you choose, you must decide whether you will use a backing and, if so, what kind.
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Some are very beautiful dresses made without lining. Choose only a lining that will not affect appearance your lace. It is better to use lining fabric for transparent lace; it can be the same color or another, or even contrasting. Lining will make your dress tighter, more comfortable and allow for a better fit.
Some laces are thin, but very prickly. For them, it is better to use an almost invisible thin mesh or tulle as a lining fabric. The lining can be shiny or matte. Try combining lace with satin, taffeta, organdy, crepe, voile or fine leotard.
When working with lace light color Cover your work surface with a smooth dark cloth and lay out the lace in one layer on the cloth. Place all paper patterns on the lace, paying attention to how the lace patterns lie on the right and left sides of the front and back, as well as in the middle.
Either pin the parts onto the lace with thin pins, or press them with weights. You only need to cut out lace fabric using cutting scissors.
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Open the lace.
When cutting lace, try to ensure that its pattern is not disrupted by the seam, but ends near the seam. Carefully plan and lay out your paper patterns, similar to how you would work with tartan. Arrange the patterns evenly and think about how to join the parts. Having achieved a good result, secure the paper patterns with thin pins or weights.Lace embroidered with ribbons, where the ribbons highlight the floral motifs, requires more careful thought, although the well-known statement that lace does not fray is true, however, your results will be better if you do not cut the ribbons that frame the outer line of the design.
To make it easier to cut out the lace while maintaining the integrity of the pattern, use thread to trace the line of the motif. Use a thread of a different color to mark the stitching line. Cut the lace behind the stitching line, but you can give a regular seam allowance of 1.5 cm or more if the piece big size. Only cut the lace when you are sure you have drawn the lines correctly.
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Needles and threads.
Take pieces of lace and check which threads and needle size are suitable for sewing it. If you are using a size 80 needle, thread the machine with cotton or polyester thread. Hold the lace along the front and back of the seam to prevent it from bunching up, but do not pull. Set the stitch length to 2.5mm and sew slowly. Change the stitch length, combination of needles and threads, thread tension until you achieve a suitable result. If the foot “gets stuck” in the lace, its sole can be wrapped in plastic or use another foot, for example for sewing denim or embroidery with satin stitch "roller". If you still need to string the lace onto the foot, sew through tissue paper or a transparent interfacing. If the lace gets caught in the needle clamp, use a straight stitch or place a strip of tissue paper under the fabric.Traditional methods of seam and dart edging work well with matte, lined, or edged lace. These seams can be adjusted at the last fitting. Seams on thin lace are processed with double stitching or overlock. This type of stitching is very difficult to correct.
Connecting the lace parts along the marked lines.
Lay the pieces on top of each other, matching the lines of the same patterns. Baste the part along the seam line with a contrasting thread, make the necessary marks with a curly stitch. IN in this case There is no need to make marks.
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Stitching the overlay seam.
Secure the bottom edge of the piece with small zigzag stitches. Check your machine's manual to find out which foot and stitch length you should set.
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Seam processing.
After stitching the pattern, trim off the excess allowance on the top lace piece. On the wrong side, trim the seam allowance close to the stitches. The darts should be ground in the same way.
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Lace applique.
Application placement.Sometimes it is not possible to place the pattern pieces so that the scallops are where you want them to be, such as at the neckline or along the bottom edges of the sleeves or skirt. In this case, the edges are trimmed with stripes with scallops or appliqués, for which lace braid with scallops is also quite suitable.
You can also cut scalloped strips from existing lace fabric or cut patterns from the inside of it. Place the lace strips on the edge you want to trim. For a more favorable effect, try to distribute lace patterns evenly: small patterns will look better on small details such as collars and cuffs, and patterns bigger size- on large parts, for example on a skirt.
Lace edge trim.
Apply the applique to a section of fabric so that a single piece is formed. If the part being processed has sharp curves, iron the applique into shape using steam or notch the applique so that it lies more evenly; pin and baste.
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To create the same scalloped hem as on our dress, cut a large triangle of scalloped lace to secure along the bottom of the front of the dress. Place the scalloped edge over the already sewn skirt front.
Sew by hand or machine stitch near the top edge of the lace. To decorate the rest of the bottom, cut out a scalloped strip following the design motif. Pin to the finished hem of the back panel of the skirt, placing the inner edge of the scallops along the entire bottom edge.
The lace motif from the back panel of the skirt should end so as to overlap the sides of the front appliqué; try to make sure that the motif is not interrupted along the entire edge if possible. Imperceptibly and firmly bend the straight edge of the scallops with your hands. Without grabbing the dress, connect the ends of the motif from the back panel of the skirt with the appliqué on the front panel of the skirt on your hands, imperceptibly and firmly.
To complete the top edge of a large applique on the front panel of the dress, place individual motifs cut from leftover lace to create a continuous beautiful drawing from lace. Sew the motifs onto the arms firmly and discreetly.
Cutting out the fabric from underneath the lace applique.
Sew the inside edge of the appliqué using a zigzag stitch, or sew over the edge on your arms. Cut the main fabric close to the seam to make the applique sheer.
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Lace applique on satin.
Pin the applique with the wrong side to the right side of the satin. Baste. Sew the applique along the edge and inside the pattern using small stitches by hand, trying to keep the lace and satin lying smoothly. You can stitch the applique to the edge using a narrow zigzag or straight stitches if it looks nice.
Lace Wedding Dress from Milo.
I quote-
There was an impulse to sew a dress with invisible seams (overlay), but the girl did not want to... it was important for her that it was visible that the dress was sewn.
Yes, I wouldn’t have succeeded... the fabric was only 1.60 with a width of 90... and since it was cut across, we can assume that the dress was made from 90 cm (with a width of 160).
Layout on fabric. The fabric is folded in a special way... there are folds on both sides, and the cuts "meet in the territory" of the cut
MK - sewing details lace dress with lining.
Sewing a dress has been reduced to two principles:
1 - fasten the layers together, and then sew the parts together, as if from ordinary fabric
2 - instead of overlocking, edge the sections
In the second photo you can see that the lace detail was cut out a little more (I adjusted it later) ... and my braid of waxed cotton threads for basting is visible, which quickly and safely (without getting tangled) decreases, despite the fact that before sewing each I also prepare things with polyester threads to match.
Then I stitched the details along the contour at a distance. 4mm from the cut, cut off the excess. 
On the silk back you can see a stitched dart (coming from the armhole, and not from the shoulder... because the layout did not allow it any other way)... I didn’t make such a small dart on the lace, but simply stitched it in this area.
Edging with bias tape.
I edged it with the thinnest lining fabric to avoid additional roughness of the seams.
I did the first line by machine, and the second by hand... due to the uneven thickness of the layers on the machine, the second line did not turn out so well... I also have complaints about manual edging - ironing it hard (then the lace pattern began to be printed) and making the edging with a doll did not work . 
The wrong side... in real life it looks better than in the photo 
Bottom of silk layer
Instructions
Before sewing, wash it, as in most cases it shrinks. And this can lead to tightening. Lay out lace on a soft surface with the wrong side up and iron - this will preserve the relief of the lace pattern.
If you just need to sew lace without gathering, to do this, place an overlapping edge of the lace on the edge of the fabric and baste it, then sew it on a machine with a zigzag seam. It is also possible to sew with a regular simple stitch. Select threads to match the color of the lace. You can sew it in the same way with the difference that the folded edge of the fabric will be on top. In this case, the threads must match the color of the fabric.
If you intend to gather the lace, then to do this, first sew it along the edge with a wide stitch, gather it on a thread, and then baste it to the edge of the product. Then sew with a zigzag stitch.
Can be sewn lace bow or regular folds. Good for this lace with a repeating pattern. Pinch folds at regular intervals (regular or counter) and baste immediately lace to the edge of the product. In this case, it is permissible to sew lace both along the edge and in its middle, which is quite often used for finishing.
Lace is sewn not only along the edge of the item, but also in the middle, for example, along or at an equal distance along the entire length of the item. To do this, choose the type of seam at your discretion - zigzag or simple stitch.
To sew (usually only one side is processed), the main fabric is placed on top. In this case, you can use one of the decorative stitches, of which there are usually quite a lot programmed. In this case, the threads can be matched or, conversely, contrasting.
Sometimes two pieces of lace fabric are needed. If you sew with a regular stitch, you will get an unsightly thick seam that “cuts”. To avoid this, the lace must be calculated with a margin, which will allow you to use a different stitching method. Using sharp scissors, carefully cut out the pattern along the contour, apply it to the other part so that the pattern of one piece of lace fabric is in harmony with the other. Pin with needles, then baste along the contour and sew with a fine zigzag seam.
Before using the lace, be sure to wash and iron it.
Products made using the ribbon lace technique look elegant and elegant. Separate ribbons can be used to knit openwork stitching, entire parts, and even a complete jacket or blouse. It is very important to connect the ribbons beautifully. There are several ways to do this.
You will need
- - Knitting;
- - hook according to the thickness of the threads;
- - product pattern;
- - needle and sewing thread to match the knitting.
Instructions
Think about how you will fasten the ribbons before you start knitting. It depends on the type and whether the entire product is made using this technique or not. Knit 1 strip as a test and see if it has picots, arcs and other elements through which you can unnoticeably pass a hook or needle.
Start knitting the ribbon with a full round motif. Whether this motif will be located at the top or bottom of the product depends on your design. If you make it at the bottom, then several ribbons tied in one direction and fastened together form a beautiful border.
Having decided to attach ribbons during knitting, knit the following elements of ribbon lace according to the pattern, knitting one side completely, and on the other without finishing 1 row. The number of rows in this part must be odd. Don't forget to periodically apply the tape to the pattern. The stripes can be positioned any way you like - along, across or diagonally. The pieces are tapered in the right places using shortened rows. Knit 2 ribbons without the last row.
Place 2 ribbons together. In this case, the completely knitted edge of one should align with the edge of the second where you did not finish 1 row. Attach the thread where you started knitting and knit the unfinished row of the strip, joining the finished edge of the second strip at equal intervals. It is most convenient to do this in the most convex parts of one and the other part. Having knitted the row to the desired place, pass the hook into the picot or arc of another ribbon, pull out the loop and knit it with a simple stitch on the hook.
