Lace It

 

Ever face the dilemma of loving something but just leaving it behind because it was too short? As I get older and I find myself in that predicament. Not because I think that women of a certain age should stick to any particular length, it’s just that I personally feel more comfortable in a longer version of what is offered in rompers and in some skirts.

I love the look of rompers, they are comfy and easy to wear, but I have had a hard time finding the right length for me. Last year I found a super cute black and white star romper at Nordstrom that I just could not pass up, because I love stars and because I love a great deal. But when I brought it home and tried it on, I was sad to see that it was way too short for me.

Frustrated with this length situation I set out to find a solution, and found the perfect fix with some lace!

Here is the jumper pre-renovation, super adorable right? I think when I noticed the lace in the sleeve it triggered the thought of adding the lace to the bottom for extra length.

When shopping for the lace I had to consider a few things:

• The width -because it needed to be long enough to make a difference
• Design- It had to be a tightly woven design, for coverage and wear, remember you will be sitting on it and a delicate lace will not survive the wear and tear.
• Texture/handle- Lace should be soft to the touch and malleable if it is not it will not be comfortable and it will pull on the hem of the romper, making it poke out and all misshapen. It should flow with the fabric of the piece.

The lace I chose was a pretty wide one, before I went to the store to buy it I did a quick measurement on how wide it should be to give the coverage I need, keep in mind that you will need a bit of an overlap to sew on, so give yourself a bit of room to account for that. Of course, the one I ended up choosing had a very narrow top border which made it a little tricky to sew.

 

I chose to sew the lace by machine, and prior to doing that I pinned it in place to make things easier. My college self would have used hot glue, as I did many times to repair a multitude of things, but experience has taught me that hot glue is not always the perfect solution.

But here are a few other ways you can attach the lace

 

All the options are great, I chose to sew on the machine because I felt for me it would be faster and more secure. Sometimes the glues and iron tape can get a little undone if you put the garment in the dryer, and to hand sew would be a total disaster with my skill level. Not that I am a master on the sewing machine, but I get by and kind of fake my way through it.

And just like that, it’s done!! Tahhh Dahhh!! Such a quick and easy solution! This little hack can be used in so many ways, instead of tossing out some older pieces, freshen them up with lace or even a cute pom pom trim. If you tear a heam on a dress, romper, or even skirt this is the perfect way to save it.

Hope this blog post has inspired you to make some fun changes to your wardrobe!

 

Thanks for stopping by!

XO

Julia