Vintage Lace Skirt

My Grandmother was an amazing seamstress.  She made beautiful clothes.  Around the time I got married, my Grandma Beth had a stroke.  She recovered most of her abilities, but her fine motor skills, required for sewing, never came back completely.  Grandma had cabinets and cabinets full of notions, fabrics and buttons.  One day while I was visiting, she decided to go through one of the cupboards and clean it out.  She gave me a big box of wonderful old buttons, some fabrics, and some beautiful lace.  I absolutely loved the lace, but I haven't found the right project for it.  Until now.

I recently joined this online bulletin board called Pinterest.  (Really great!)  While I was perusing the craft pages, I came across this gorgeous skirt.  I looked at the source location, and found that someone had written a blog about how to make it.

I finally had my lace project!

I read the blog, and saw that the author cut her own pattern from an existing skirt.  I am not that brave.  Fortunately, I had a great pattern I picked up several years ago that had a good pencil skirt pattern that was easy to alter.  (I have NEVER been able to find a pattern that fits me properly.  My waist is always about 3 sizes larger than my hips, so everything has to be adjusted.)

I began to cut out the main skirt, but realized I would be much happier if it was lined.  (White skirts are a little too revealing for my taste.)  Fortunately I had some spare muslin lying around.  I cut out my lining and started to put the skirt together.

It took a little while, but I got the basic skirt made, and began layering the lace.  I loved the way it looked!  I decided to cover the waistband with lace as well to give it a more uniform look.

I finished the skirt this morning, and decided it needed a fun button on the side.  I had the perfect one!

So if you have any unused lace lying around, give it a try!