Refashionista: Adding lace

Those who know me already know I love a simple fix. I love it when you can give a garment a new life with just a few simple steps. Adding a bit of lace is just one of those easy and quick ways to transform a  garment. And, when lace and skirts meet, you can be certain the outcome will look simply adorable.

Here's the how-to:




You will need:

• a skirt
• wide lace (length of the circumference of your skirt bottom + 10cm)
• pins
• sewing machine (optional, you can do this by hand)
• ruler
• soap or tailor's chalk

My skirt had a slit in the back seam, so the first thing I did was to attach the lace to the upper layer. Aline it with the end of the slit, pin in place and sew vertically into place. This way you have secured one end of the lace to the skirt.

Next, measure the distance of the upper edge of the lace from the bottom edge of the skirt. Draw a line all around the skirt at this level using a chip of soap or tailor's chalk. This will be your guideline when sewing the lace to the skirt.

Aline the lace with the line you drew and sew into place. Attention! Avoid sewing together the lining and the skirt. Attach the lace only to the skirt fabric, NOT the lining. So, be careful to pull the lining up before you start sewing.

Only one step left! Pin the end of the lace to the lining and sew it in place (next to pins in the upper picture). Secure thread ends, clip, and you're done.

You might be wondering why I didn't sew the other edge of the lace to the skirt. I tried it, but it didn't fit right. Because it is not clued to the fabric, it will look funny. It's hard to explain, so you'll just have to trust me on this one.

Oh, and here's two ways I styled this skirt.

If you have any questions or impressions, don't keep them to yourself. Leave them in the comments below!

Happy sewing!