Sometimes I make embarrassing mistakes, and for a while I thought ordering this white cotton/nylon lace from Mood Fabrics was one of those times.

The flat lace reminded me of a tablecloth upon pulling it out of the box, revealing my inexperience in selecting lace. What can I say – I felt stupid for placing such an order when so many beautiful laces were available.

B u t w h a t ’ s a g i r l t o d o ?

After three worrisome weeks, I bought my first bottle of Rit Dye.

Thirty minutes later….. I had a new attitude,

and two days later, I had a new dress!

Still energized by sewing with lace and the Sew the Perfect Fit Craftsy course led me to make one more dress with Vogue 8766 for an annual event my husband and I attend – this year with Regis Philbin.

This pattern is designed to be cut on the crossgrain. Since I wanted to take advantage of the fabric’s pretty scalloped border I cut the skirt’s lower edge along the border and included the long, darted sleeve (my first). What beautiful shaping darts add to a sleeve – so much better than easestitching !

I followed the exact method and instructions as I did for the navy lace dress. Since I was working from a carefully constructed muslin, there were no fitting issues, though early on I melted the nylon netting in four spots on one of the back pieces. Recutting the pattern piece and using a press cloth got me back on track. After toying with several waist embellishments I opted for none.

The dress is lined with Mandarin china silk from Mood which was designated for another project. I found that the silk’s beautiful depth of color and sheen nicely complimented the matte quality of the lace.

After exploring the lace scene this spring I get the feeling no two laces are alike in appearance or handling. However, sewing with lace need not be scary and I plan to learn more about a fabric that I once considered mysterious.

……….and the Rit dye? Oh my goodness! Did you know the Rit Dye’s website provides formulas for 500 different colors? I am a changed woman!

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So how did my dress go over last night? I’m still a little self-conscious circulating my homemade frocks amongst hundreds of $$$$$$$$ garments, but I recognize a driving force behind putting forth my best efforts is wearing my projects – i n p u b l i c .

When I walked in the venue with a very wealthy woman who repeatedly told me she wanted my dress I didn’t dare go into my tablecoth, Rit dye and sewing saga. Instead I relaxed and remembered Diane Von Furstenburg’s motto that always rings true – “Attitude is Everything!”

Speaking of attitudes……….. my next project up is the Oonaballoona dress!

Until soon

Let’s call this look,”Devil in a Blue Lace Dress”.

When the Mood Sewing Network decided that it was time for a group project, that was not what I wanted to hear.  I don’t even do sew-a-longs because I truly prefer to roll solo when it comes to sewing.  It’s not that I don’t play well with others, it’s that my sewing is personal.  It’s dictated by my mood and what’s inspiring me at the moment… not a consensus plan.  And to be quite honest, lace was not on my radar.  Sure, it’s pretty and one of the hottest trends of the season.  And even though I probably would’ve gotten around to doing a lace project eventually, I was just not in the mood now.  I’m obviously not oppose to lace, I’ve made a great lace dress before.  But, being part of a group means that sometimes you have to go along to get along.

I can’t even begin to tell you how difficult it was to decide on a project.  I even began to curate a Pinterest board dedicated to lace, for inspiration.  Then there was selecting the fabric.  Have you any idea as to how many variations there are of lace?  The only thing I was definitive of is that I wanted it in a bold color.  And thanks to Carolyn, I found the perfect one at the Mood NYC store. Editor’s note: Mood has loads of lace fabrics online, or you can contact our stores in NYC (212-730-5003) or LA (323-653-6663).

The lace is beautiful, but has a lot of stretch.  I knew that would be a nightmare to work with.  So my way of working with it was to spray it down with fabric stabilizer, allowing it to dry and smoothing out its crinkly texture with my iron.  After that, this beautiful lace was a dream to handle. I underlined with a matching blue fabric… a stretch satin.  I opted not to line the dress.  I actually like the way the dress wears… it has the look of a dressy/cocktail frock, but the comfort of a knit.

At first, I had my heart set on a lace trench coat, a la Burberry Prorsum.  Ambitious, I know.  But the varying factors (i.e. the weather here does not permit spring coats; and who really wants to underline all of those pieces?) swayed me.  So I went with something more wearable: a lace dress.

Lace dresses can be really conservative or coquettish… really twee.  Or they can look really skanky and trashy.  And neither look define me.  So I picked a style that suited my personality… a peplum sheath.  I used Simplicity 1650.

I altered the pattern by adding 1/2 an inch to the waist and 3 inches to the skirt.  To me, it ran short.

Now that I’m no longer feeling all devilish about this project, all in all, this was a great project that allowed me to challenge myself.  And what I learned?  That sometimes when you go ahead with an “out of the box” project, you just may learn some things and enjoy it.