My travelling craft kit is pretty compact – generally just a few different colours of thread, some needles and, if I’m planning a project, my fabric or supply of choice. This holidays it was a lovely few metres of delicate lace I picked up while sourcing for one of our fabric customers. Without the necessary sewing machine required for a more serious project, I set about creating something super easy using just hand sewing, essentially creating a lace overlay for an existing skirt I found at the markets. This process is somewhat similar to what I used to make this mesh skirt, and is really very easy. It’s perfect for the sewing novice or someone without a machine.
You need:
- A black skirt
- 2m of eyelet lace
- Scissors
- A needle and black thread
- Pins
How to:
1. Lay your fabric on a flat surface and overlay the skirt over the top.
2. Cut the fabric along the top of the skirt, making sure to leave 2.5cm (1 inch) so you can sew it over the edge.
3. To cut the right length, you want double the width of your existing skirt.
4. Now you’re going to sew the long edges of the lace together so that you have a tube of fabric that fits over the top of your skirt.
5. Make sure you sew the seam so that you can turn the fabric the right way out to hide the join.
6. Carefully pin your lace tube to your skirt along the top of the waistband. Mine was a gathered waistband so I had to stretch out the gathering to give the right lay of the lace fabric.
7. Finally, sew the lace casing onto the waistband of your skirt, making sure to fold it over at the top so it has a nice clean finish. To make sure the stitches aren’t too obvious, sew short, invisible ones on the right side, and longer ones at the back of the fabric. If your skirt has a zip you will need to sew it carefully around the zip so the skirt can be opened and closed.
Voila!
Photos by Mel Carrero
