Lace is sewn around its pattern, not through it. Treating a lace panel like an ordinary woven is what produces the clumsy seams people associate with it.
Use the scalloped edge. Most lace comes with a finished decorative border along one selvedge. Place hems and necklines on that edge and you have a finished hem with no stitching at all. Plan the cutting layout around it before anything else.
Match the motifs across seams. Overlap the two pieces so the pattern continues, pin, then stitch around the outline of a motif with a short straight stitch or a narrow zigzag. Trim the excess close to the stitching on both sides. The join disappears into the design.
For ordinary seams, a narrow zigzag over a plain seam allowance works, or a French seam on lighter lace. Use a 70/10 sharp needle and fine thread that matches the lace rather than the lining.
Underline rather than line where the lace is meant to read as lace — a separate lining hung inside gives the modesty without flattening the texture.
Stabilise buttonholes and zip openings with a strip of organza behind. Lace has no body of its own and a fastening set straight into it will tear out.
Press with a cloth, face down on a towel, so the raised motifs are not flattened. Test on a scrap first: much bridal lace is synthetic and will melt.
Questions people actually ask
Can I use pins on lace?
Fine pins inside the seam allowance are usually safe, but they catch easily. Clips are better along edges, and a light basting is better still for matching motifs.
How do I finish a lace hem without the scalloped edge?
Appliqué a row of cut-out motifs along the raw edge and trim behind them. A turned hem on lace is bulky and always shows.
Last reviewed 2026-08-11