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Lace in women's dresses symbolizes delicacy. The touch of thin lace on a shapely outline of the feminine body is a pleasant sensation of lightness, especially in summers when you need airy fabric. More appealing is the unique quality of lace to allow maximum self-exposure without compromising your conventional femininity. This tricky nature of lace has attracted fashion designers for decades and the charm never fades. Today couturiers extensively use lace applique seams to assemble creatively thought designs with intricate shapes such that there are no visible seamlines. Sewing applique seams is easy because laces of fine quality do not ravel and the raw edges do not fold under as is the cause with woven fabrics. Following is a guide to creating simple but attractive designs with lace.

Material Required for Lace Couture

Lace
White thread
Two differently colored threads
Mercerised cotton thread (to match the lace)
Pins
Hand Needles (size 9 or 10)
Beeswax
Pattern
Pattern Paper
Softly-padded pressing surface
Organza or see-through press cloth

Procedure

In case, you are using the pattern for the first time, make a calico test garment to correct the fit before cutting the lace. You can transfer any adjustments made on the test garment to the paper pattern. But you may also choose to use the calico garment as a pattern. Trim away any seam allowances on the paper pattern and on the calico. Now fold them under. Make duplicate pattern pieces so that all the pieces can be laid out on a single layer of fabric before starting with cutting. Spread the lace in a single layer with the right side up. Examine the lace and its motifs to see if matching is required, and if it is, how much of it. Next, place the patterns on the lace, leaving some place between the sections for adding seam allowances.

Position the sections as needed for the design of the motif. Thread-trace all seamlines with white thread and long basting stitches. With short basting stitches, mark all notches and match points horizontally. Now remove the pattern pieces. Mark the top of each garment section with a cross stitch or tailor's tack so the right side of the lace will be easily identified during construction. Cut out the garment sections, leaving a minimum seam allowance of half an inch. Remember to cut around, and through, any motifs that extend over the seamline. Place the two sections to be joined on the table. Lap the edges, aligning the thread-traced seamlines and match points.

Pin the seamlines together and take a look at your work. It is better to stand back and examine your work once more from some distance so as to make sure the motifs are placed attractively. With a colored thread and uneven basting stitches, baste on the seamline. Now, with a different colored thread and a diagonal stitch, baste the edges of the overlap flat. Check the fits and refine if required. Hand-sew the new seamline permanently around the edges of the motifs by using matching thread and fine needle. Generally, the best stitch is a small overcast of whipping stitch. A very thin running stitch also serves the purpose well.

Coming to the concluding stage, trim away any excess lace at the edges of the overlap. Trim the underlap close to the seamline. Remove the thread tracings and bastings. Place the lace wrong side up on a well-padded pressing board and press all seams and darts.

Applying Lace to Edges

Admirers of the famous GIvenchy designs know that the designs owe their popularity to the scalloped edges. Each of the skirt tiers is cut on the crossgrain with the scalloped edge at the hemline. At the neckline and sleeve hem, the scallops are cut from the lace and then appliqued to the edges of the garment. Follow the simple course of applying lace to edges as given below:

Prepare the lace applique seams as described above.

When possible, trim the strip from the scalloped edges before cutting out the garment sections. Narrow strips are easier to shape around curved edges than wide ones.

Mark the garment edges at the neckline, armholes, and all hemlines with thread tracing.

When the garment is assembled, pin, and then baste the scalloped trim to the thread-traced lines.

Use a short running stitch or a small diagonal stitch along with matching thread to permanently sew the trim in place.