DIY Lace Hemline for Dresses

One of the easiest do-it-yourself modifications for a plain dress is a DIY lace hemline. The final result is very subtle, since you are just adding a little bit of personal touch to your outfit. I love adding lace to both the hemline and the neckline of dresses to create a complete and more classic look. I wanted to share with you some ideas and examples of how to do this. If you are a DIY beginner and have no sewing experience, don’t despair – I am just like you and still managed to complete the DIY lace hemline project in less than 30 minutes using a tiny cheap sewing machine.

The materials you need are:

• Basic dress – any model will work, but I have had the best results with a plain strapless dress with a flare skirt
• Lace – although you can sew any width of lace to the hemline or neckline of the dress, it would be easier if you have a wider lace (5 inches)

You can check the links below for similar materials to the ones I used:

I started by using all the pins I could find buried around in the apartment. I used them to pin the red lace to the hemline and the neckline of the dress. This will show you the necessary length of the lace.. It is always better to leave some extra length, just in case – I left 5 inches extra. For the hemline, I pinned the lace on the reverse side of the dress. For the neckline, I folded the lace so it wraps around the neckline.

Next, I used a sewing machine to sew the lace to the hemline and the neckline. Using a sewing machine will definitely save you time, but if you do not have one you can also sew the lace by hand. If you do have a sewing machine but are not sure how to use it, check out this quick tutorial.

Because my sewing machine is very small, cheap, and basic, it was hard to sew through parts of the neckline, such as the stitches on the front and on the side of the dress, and the fabric right next to the zipper. I hand sewed the lace whenever I was not able to use the sewing machine.

30 minutes later, I had my complete outfit. I added lace flowers I made using the same lace – if you want to make these flowers, you can find some tips in our blog. For best results, use a thread that matches the color of the lace – this will help you hide any missed or messed up stitches.