Sewing with lace: seams, hems and linings

Lace sews well once you treat it as a fabric full of holes: use a fine new needle (70/10), fine thread, a stitch length of 2 to 2.5 mm, and support it with tissue paper or a lining layer as it goes through the machine. Join soft laces with French seams or narrow zigzagged seams, lap the pieces along the motifs on guipure and corded lace, and use the scalloped edge as the hem wherever the pattern allows. Whether you line, underline or leave the lace bare decides how the finished garment looks, so choose that before you cut.

Quick reference: machine settings for lace

Which kind of lace are you sewing?

Lace is a family, not one fabric, and the type decides the seam and the hem.

• Chantilly and other fine net laces have motifs on a soft net ground. They drape, snag easily and are nearly transparent. French seams and a scalloped hem suit them.
• Corded and re-embroidered lace (often sold as Alençon) has motifs outlined with a thicker cord. It is stiffer and hides a lapped seam very well.
• Guipure has no net at all: the motifs are joined to each other by bars. It is heavy, has no drape, and the only seam that disappears is a lapped one cut around the motifs.
• Stretch lace (raschel lace with elastane) sews like a light knit: stretch needle, narrow zigzag, no lining needed on a fitted top.
• Cotton lace and eyelet (broderie anglaise is an embroidered cotton rather than a true lace) behave like lightweight cotton and take ordinary seams.

How do you cut lace?

Cut lace in a single layer, right side up, on a flat surface with a plain cloth or tissue paper under it so the net does not catch on the table. Hold the pattern with weights rather than pins, or pin only inside the seam allowances with fine pins. Lace has a direction, like a nap: motifs point one way, and all the pieces must be cut with the top of the garment toward the same end.

Plan the scallops before anything else. Lay the hem cutting line of the skirt, sleeve or top along the scalloped border and cut off the hem allowance from the pattern, so the finished edge is the border itself. Center a large motif at the center front and mirror the motifs on the left and right of a neckline. Buy 20 to 30 percent more than the pattern asks for, because moving pieces to match motifs and scallops wastes fabric.

Mark with thread tailor's tacks or chalk on the tissue, not with a tracing wheel, which tears net.

Which seam should you use on lace?

French seam on soft laces. With a 1.5 cm (5/8 in) seam allowance, sew the first pass wrong sides together 9 mm (3/8 in) from the raw edge, trim the allowance to 3 mm (1/8 in), press, fold right sides together along the seam and sew 6 mm (1/4 in) from the fold. The second line lands exactly on the stitching line and the raw edges are enclosed, which matters on a transparent fabric. The French seam tutorial walks through the pressing between the two passes.

Narrow zigzag seam on stretch lace and on seams that will be hidden by a lining. Sew the seam with a straight stitch, add a narrow zigzag in the allowance beside it, and trim the allowance close to the zigzag. Lace net does not fray, so this is enough.

Lapped seam on guipure and corded lace, where any stitched seam would show as a line through the motifs. Cut one of the two pieces along the outline of the motifs near the stitching line, lay it over the other piece so that the stitching lines coincide, pin, and sew along the motif outlines with a small zigzag or by hand. Trim the excess lace underneath to 5 mm (1/4 in). From the right side the join disappears into the pattern of the lace.

Tip: If the net is pulled into the needle hole at the start of a seam, place a strip of tissue paper under the fabric, hold both thread tails behind the foot, and begin 1 cm (3/8 in) in from the edge. Tear the paper away afterwards.

How do you hem lace?

The best hem is the one you do not sew: the scalloped border placed on the hem line. Where a pattern piece cannot be placed on the border, you have three options. A narrow rolled hem by machine or by hand suits fine net laces. A separate lace border or trim can be stitched along the hem line with a small zigzag and the fabric beneath trimmed away. On guipure, the edge can be cut around the motifs and left as it is, since there is no net to fray.

Avoid deep turned hems; two or three layers of lace folded over each other make an opaque band that shows through the rest of the garment.

Should you line or underline lace?

Underlining means basting each lace piece to a piece of a second fabric (silk organza, cotton lawn, crepe de chine or a fine tricot) and sewing the two as one. The seams, darts and zips are then hidden between the two layers, the lace is supported, and the garment is opaque. You lose the transparency, so underline a bodice and a skirt, and leave the sleeves and a yoke bare.

Lining means a separate garment sewn inside, attached at the neckline and armholes. The lace floats over it and shows its seams, so those seams must be neat (French or lapped). The lining fabric post helps you choose between a slippery lining and a breathable one.

The color of the layer underneath changes everything. A lining matched to your skin tone gives the "lace on skin" look of occasion wear; a lining in the color of the lace reads as a solid, textured fabric; a contrast lining is a deliberate retro effect. Hold the lace over the candidate fabric in daylight before you buy.

If you draft the garment in Sewly, set the seam allowance to 1 cm (3/8 in) before printing: it is enough for a French seam and leaves less to trim away on a fabric where every layer shows.

How do you press lace?

Lace flattens if it is pressed from the right side. Lay it face down on a folded towel so the motifs sink into the pile, cover it with a pressing cloth, and press with the iron at the setting for the fiber, lifting and lowering rather than sliding. Synthetic lace melts at cotton heat, so test on a scrap at the synthetic setting first. Press seams open or to one side with the tip of the iron only.

What to sew with lace

• A slip dress with a lace overlay over a self-fabric slip, the overlay hemmed on the scallop.
• A woven top in corded lace worn over a camisole, with French seams and a bias-bound neckline.
• A kimono jacket in guipure or stretch lace, unlined, with the scallop along the front edges and hem.

For the thinnest net laces, the advice in how to sew sheer fabrics on needle plates and thread tension applies as well.