Hello-
Hope all is well. I took a quick trip to the Midwest to spend a little time with family and friends over the weekend. Right before finalizing my packing, it occurred to me that maybe I could take a couple of my makes and take pictures in my mom’s backyard. Of course that meant I had to pack more things, such as the camera, tripod, laptop, extra shoes, etc. I also considered how I could pack one of my sewing machines (I have been known to travel with a one). However, I need to get a cheapy machine that I won’t be too devastated if something unexpected happens to it during travel…again, lol. Although, there was no sewing during the visit, I was able to get plenty of sewing in before leaving.
So let’s get into this week’s DIY look, a crochet lace duster…
This lovely fabric is from Stylish Fabric. I have been referring to it as crochet lace, because that is what it seems like to me. It is described as chemical lace and can be found on Stylish Fabric’s website by clicking here. I was curious about what is meant by chemical lace, so I Googled it and found information on Wikipedia. Based on what I read (summing it up), it is a form of machine made lace created by embroidering a pattern on sacrificial fabric that has been chemically treated to disintegrate after the pattern is made. When the embroidery is completed onto the fabric, the embroidered fabric is placed in a solution that will dissolve the sacrifical fabric, but not harm the embroidered threads. This technique allows a single piece of lace to be made over 60 inches wide and 15 yards long…interesting huh? If you are interested in purchasing this lace feel free to use my coupon code: Tee to receive 15% off your purchase (this discount applies site-wide as well)!
I made this with McCalls M7476 View B, without the pockets. This is a very simple duster to make.
My intention was to make the length of View E, but I cut this so that the scalloped selvage ended up being the finished hem and finished edge of the sleeves. As a result of turning the direction of the fabric, I lost about 3 to 4 inches of the pattern length. This worked in my favor, because I am short so the length ended up being ideal for me. I stitched the entire garment with a zig-zag stitch and walking foot. When I was satisfied with the fit, I serged all of the seams, making sure I caught all of the fabric in the stitching.
I was concerned about how well the shoulder seams and armholes of the garment would hold up with wear over time. Therefore, I cut a strip of selvage from mauve colored jersey knit that I also had from Stylish Fabric to add a little support in those seams before serging.
The sleeves were attached using the flat sleeve insertion method. Notice that I used wonder clips a lot during the process of making this. It was easier than using pins for this fabric type.
I cut the facing out as normal, however, since this is see through fabric and has a spacey pattern, I had to be a little creative when I turned the facing to the inside of the garment to finish it. Once the facing was attached, I trimmed down the seam allowance, turned the facing to the inside, and lightly pressed it with a cloth. I used the coverstitch machine to top-stitch the facing into place along the edge. I trimmed off the excess facing that did not get caught in the coverstitch with my curved scissors, closely to the seam. It worked out very well. Of course I could not add any interfacing on the facing to give it more shape or support since the lace is see through. However, the two layers together along with the coverstich was sufficient in giving it a light, flowy, and flexible shape and drape.
Soooo…..My mom fell in love with this duster, so it did not make it back to Las Vegas with me. Therefore, I will have to make myself another one, HA!
Don’t forget to go and check this and other fabric out on at www.stylishfabric.com and use my discount code: Tee to receive 15% off.
That’s all I have for this week and I can’t wait to share my last lace look with Stylish Fabric for this round, before I move on to some fun prints. Take care and until next time….
Yours truly, Tee
Make sure you subscribe to the blog to receive updates on the latest posts! Just scroll down the page on your mobile device or to the upper right corner of your computer screen. You may also follow via Bloglovin’ (see the link below).
Follow my blog with Bloglovin
