Monday, January 21, 2013

DIY Vintage Lace Trim - Upcycle Your Lace Tablecloth or Curtains!





Once upon a time, 26 years ago, HUBBY and I were newlyweds.  We were blessed to have some incredible friends, BH and KH.  BH did me the honor of serving as a  bridesmaid for me and her husband KH was a groomsman for HUBBY.  She also hosted our wedding reception at a vacation resort in east Texas.  This included getting access to the areas where the wedding and reception was held, feeding dinner to all our guests, hosting a wonderful party, and providing overnight accommodations - furnished condos - for all our wedding guests.  A few months later, she and KH invited us to stay with them at their vacation condo in Cancun,  Mexico for a beautiful, belated honeymoon.  The atmosphere was perfect and the markets were amazing.  We returned home with our luggage full of wonderful mementos of our trip.  One item we treasured was a beach sand colored lace tablecloth.

Our lovely tablecloth incurred damage over the years, it's sweet lace pattern broken and scarred with a rip and a pull here and there.  Still, I couldn't part with it because it held such sentimental value to us.  What to do?  Upcycle!!  

Some trim was needed for the kitchen curtains I was making.  The lace tablecloth was perfect! But how would I get a roll of lace trim from a big oval tablecloth?  Crocheted cotton or linen tablecloths can be quite stretchy.  Plus, the oval shape provided no 90 degree angles to use as reference points to make nice, straight, clean cuts and seams.  

My prudent yet unscientific method is as follows:

Supplies

Lace Fabric (tablecloth, curtain panels, etc.)
Scissors
Sewing Machine or Serger

Directions

1. Iron tablecloth fabric if necessary.  Lay out fabric on large flat surface.  Determine where you want to cut the first strip.  Cut along weave of fabric.  This may not be a perfectly straight cut if your lace is crocheted cotton or linen lace, as it tends to shrink unevenly. 









2. After the first strip of lace is cut, lay it atop the next place where you wish to cut a strip, and use the first as a template.  This will help the width of the strips be as uniform as possible.  Cut the next strip and repeat the process, cutting as many strips as you need.






3. Sew the narrow end of one strip to the narrow end of another strip, making one long strip.  If you use a serger the process is faster.  However, you could certainly use a regular sewing machine.  If so, make sure you zig zag stitch over the edges of the seam after you've straight-stitched it to ensure the lace fabric doesn't unravel.






4. When finished sewing all the strips of lace together, the result is one really long strip of lace trim with unfinished edges.  Trim if necessary to ensure uniform width throughout the long strip. Serge or straight stitch and zig-zag over all of your unfinished edges (see #3 above)









The lace trim is ready to roll up and use for your next project.
 



The vintage lace trim was perfect for the valance I was constructing.



To see how this lovely lace looks on the curtains, check out Kitchen Curtains Tutorial - Give Your Kitchen Curtains a Fresh New Look FYI, I had no dishtowels to match my new curtains, so it was time for new ones.  Yep, a few of them have the vintage lace, too.  I'll be sharing that post soon.




All Things with Purpose




This post is shared at:  

Sew Chatty:  Made With Love Link Party

All Things With Purpose: All Things Thursday Link Up No. 7 

Sew Can Do: Craftastic Monday Link Party
  
What's in the Gunny Sack?  Link Party #72 

Skip to my Lou: Made by you Monday 

diy home sweet home: More the Merrier Monday 

C.R.A.F.T.: Monday Funday #2

Craft-O-Maniac Monday

15 comments:

  1. Love this and it will come in handy for my upcycled leg warmers that I have been working on and plan to sell in my Esty shop if possible :D... Thank-you for sharing!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hello Reecea, Thanks for popping by my blog & leaving a comment. This is such a great recycling idea. I'm going to file it away for the future!

    Warmly, Michelle
    Faith, Trust & Pixie Dust

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Michelle,

      Thank you for visiting and your kind words.

      Reecea

      Delete
  3. Love your idea. I love upcycling old things to something new and useful. Thanks for the comments on my post on the Gunny Sack. I'm your newest follower.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Geri,

      Thanks for your kind words. Yea hooray thanks for the follow!!

      Reecea

      Delete
  4. What a great idea!
    Jenna
    24 Cottonwood Lane

    ReplyDelete
  5. What a great idea for upcycling something that has such sentimental value. I'm sure your new curtains and valance will look great with the vintage lace!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Susan,

      Thanks for stopping by and for your nice comment.

      Reecea

      Delete
  6. Hi Reecea~ Thanks for commenting on my Diana Rambles blog. I am now following you via GFC, Twitter & G+. Please come back on Friday and join my linky party!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you so much Diana for the follows. I'm still a novice to all this, but I think I followed you back on GFC and twitter. I love Linky Parties!

      Delete
  7. Vintage lace trim WoW! I need to dig out my bin of fabrics and create trim. Thanks for the tip and tut. Oh and thanks for visiting my Old Ladder's New Life post. :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Andrea,

      Thanks for the visit and for the kind words.

      Reecea

      Delete

Your comments are important. Thanks for your input!