I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE lace!!  There are so many different types of lace, so I can’t say that I have a favorite.

Lace can be very elegant for wedding gowns, lingerie, evening wear, or it can be dressed down. Lace can be mixed with all types of fabric including velvet, denim or leather.  It can be made with cotton, silk or wire.  I don’t care what it is made of as long as it is lace.  Ahh, Lace!

Lace is romantic, provocative and sexy.  Lace can be the whole garment, appliquéd on, as a decorative accent, or it can just peek through.  It can be plain, simple or embellished with beads, sequins or feathers. It can be country, victorian or royalty.  Lace can be sweet, demure and innocent.

I think lace is the most versatile fabric there is, because there are so many options on how to use it.

If I had to describe myself in the use of fabric I would probably describe myself as a piece of French silk lace hand embellished with exquisite beads and sparkling gems.

Here are a few things showing how I have used lace throughout the years.  I wish I had pictures of everything I have ever made with lace, but then I guess I would have to fill volumes of books with pictures.  I have made wedding gowns, prom dresses, baby clothes, little girl clothes, lingerie, purses, tablecloths, window treatments, bed skirts, bed spreads, dance costumes, theater costumes, Christmas tree decorations, and on, and on, and on, all with some type of lace.

Wedding Dress

Hat

I bought a basic hat and covered it with Chantilly lace.  Then I hand beaded it on the top and on the inside brim where the beaded lace would frame my face.

Simple hand beading on the Chantilly lace ruffle and hem of the dress.

Another Example of simple beading added to Lace.  This dress is very old, so please excuse the tears in the neckline, I made it for my Jr. Prom in the 1970’s.  I found an old wedding dress in a thrift store and used it as my inspiration.

Alencon Lace can be used as bought or cut up and hand sewn as appliqués, trims or borders. Place it anywhere you want on your base fabric.

This piece of Guipure Lace is a little heavier.  This is an example of how you can cut it, place it over seams and hand sew it in place to create a kind of zigsaw puzzle.  You have to look very closely to see where it was cut and sewn together to create the curve of a bust.  This heavier type of lace that has a lot of open space should also be randomly hand tacked to your fabric so that it doesn’t droop or get caught on things as you walk by.I used Venetian Lace and velvet in my dining room.

 I  have several laces in my stash.  These are some of my lingerie laces I just purchased at the Original Sewing & Quilt Expo.

This Embellished Silk lace is Exquisite.  My photography doesn’t do it justice at all, it is simply exquisite. With it being made from silk, it is very fluid and so soft to touch.  My husband found this and bought it for me for Christmas.  I can’t wait to figure out what to make with it.

I love lace so much that I even have embroidery software that makes free standing lace into little decorative items.

OESD FSL Gift Box

OESD FSL Lace Church

Sue Box Creations 3D Swan

I have a friend that does AMAZING hand tatting, here is an example of it.

Lace –  what can I say, I could go on and on about it, but I don’t want to bore you.  So my challenge this time isn’t about lace.  It is to think about this question “What Fabric are You?”

Have fun pondering and let me know what you decide.