How to Sew Lace to a Gathered Edge
A soft, vintage finish that looks fussy but really isn't. All you need is a straight stitch, an iron, and a bit of patience.
A gathered edge finished with a little lace is one of those soft, vintage details I come back to again and again. The gathers give you volume and movement, and the lace peeking out along the seam adds that heirloom, Edwardian feeling I love.
It looks fussy, but it really isn't. You need a straight stitch, an iron, and a bit of patience. That is it.
This is the exact lace-yoke finish from my Leonie dress pattern. Here is how I do it, step by step.
What you'll need
- Your fabric panel, gathered to the length you need
- A binding strip (cut on the grain) from the same fabric, about 4 cm / 1½" wide
- Flat lace trim, an edging lace with one straight edge works best
- Matching thread
- Pins and an iron
- Your sewing machine, a straight stitch is all you need
Prepare your binding
First, press your binding. Fold the strip in half lengthwise, wrong sides together, and press to set a center crease. Open it back up, then fold both long edges in to meet that crease and press again. You end up with a neat four-fold strip, like bias binding.
Sew the panel to the binding
a. Pin the wrong side of your gathered edge to the right side of the binding, lining up the raw edges.
b. Sew along the edge at a 7 mm (¼") seam allowance. I prefer to do this with the gathers facing me to be able to distribute them as I'm sewing. Once it is stitched down, you can gently remove your gathering stitches.
Press toward the binding
From the right side, press the seam allowance up toward the binding. Then refold the binding's raw edge back to the wrong side, along the crease you pressed earlier. This gets everything ready to wrap around and enclose the seam.
Add the lace and fold the binding over
Lay your lace so its bottom edge sits just over the seam. Fold the binding over so it overlaps the lace by a couple of millimetres (about ⅛"). Pin it all in place.
Note: you could place the edge of your lace up to the raw edge of your garment, but it will take away more seam allowance (so visible width) from your lace.
Sew the binding
Edgestitch along the folded edge of the binding, catching the lace underneath as you go. Take it slowly and keep your needle right by the fold so the stitching stays crisp.
Flip the lace up and press
a. Flip the lace up so it stands away from the binding. From the wrong side, press the binding down toward the garment.
b. Then press again from the right side, flattening the gathers so everything sits smooth.
Topstitch to finish
To finish, topstitch the binding in place along the edge of the garment. I set my stitch length to 3 for this. Give it one last press, and your lace-trimmed gathered edge is done.
A few questions
What kind of lace works best?
A flat edging lace with one straight edge is the easiest to sew down cleanly. A soft cotton lace looks lovely on natural fabrics like cotton and linen.
Do I need a special presser foot?
No, a regular presser foot and a straight stitch are all you need.
Try this technique with the Leonie dress
This is the lace-yoke finish from my Leonie dress (it's View B in the pattern). If you love the look, the Leonie walks you through it in full, with every measurement worked out for you.
And if you just love lace, my Rafaela top and dress is another romantic make to try. It uses lace insertions and a lace edging rather than this gathered lace yoke, but it has that same soft, vintage feel.
Sew along with me
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And voilà! I hope you found this one helpful. If you try it, tag me on Instagram so I can share your makes.
Loïse 🤍
The lace-yoke finish from the Leonie dress pattern by Gold & Skye Patterns.
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