Coloured Lace

Why coloured lace?

• Beyond ivory. Every lace here comes in a colour other than white or ivory: black, blues, greens, steel grey and earthy rust, chocolate and sand.
• Plain, beaded or sequinned. Soft fine laces, a corded lace with small sequins, and hand-beaded laces for evening sparkle.
• Finished edges. Most have scalloped or eyelash edges, so a hem or neckline can simply follow the edge of the lace.
• Trims too. Black lace trims, including a stretch trim, and a beaded silver trim.

Which coloured lace?

Buying coloured lace

Most of these laces are made in panels about 3 metres long, so if you order more than the length of one panel, it may come in more than one piece. The trims are made in lengths too. Sequined Floral Corded Lace (1683BD) isn't made in panels.

Choosing a colour

Colours look different on every screen, so we always recommend ordering samples of the lace and the fabric you'll put under it, and comparing them side by side in daylight.

What to put under it

Coloured lace can sit over a matching colour for a rich, solid look, or over a contrast, like black lace over nude or blush, so the pattern stands out. Crepe de chine and sandwash satin give a soft drape, and habotai makes a light lining.

What to make with it

• Evening and cocktail dresses
• Mother of the bride and groom outfits
• Sleeves, yokes and overlays
• Skirts and fitted bodices
• Edging a neckline or hem with a trim

Cutting

• Always cut the lace flat on the table as a single layer: don't fold it and cut double.
• Lay it right side up and place the scalloped edge along hems, necklines and sleeve ends before you cut.
• Line up the main motifs across the front, back and sleeves, and allow extra for matching.
• On beaded and sequinned laces, cut through the base between the beads where you can, and keep any beads that come loose.

Sewing

• Use a fresh, fine needle (size 70) and a fine mercerised cotton thread in a matching colour.
• For invisible joins, overlap two pieces, stitch around the outline of a motif, then trim away the extra lace.
• On beaded and sequinned lace, clear the seam allowances: snip the threads holding the beads or sequins inside the seam allowance, slide them off and knot the loose thread ends so the rest stay put. Use a zipper foot to stitch close to them, and sew slowly. Keep any beads or sequins that come loose, to sew back over the seam by hand.
• On the stretch trim, sew with a narrow zigzag so it can still stretch.

Edges and hems

With a scalloped or eyelash edge there's nothing to hem: just use the finished edge. Sequined Floral Corded Lace (1683BD) has a plain selvedge, so finish its hems with a lace trim, or bind the edge with a narrow strip of silk.

Pressing

• Lace: face down on a thick, clean towel, on a low setting, through a pressing cloth, so the motifs sink in rather than flatten. Test on a scrap first.
• Beaded, sequinned and glitter laces: never iron directly on them, as heat can curl or melt sequins. Press face down on a thick towel, on a low setting, through a pressing cloth.

Questions