"Go With Everything" Lace Baby Skirt

Several weeks ago I attended a baby shower and sat next to my dear friend, Melanie, and her beautiful baby. Mia was wearing a onesie with an ivory lace over-skirt and looked like a princess. Melanie told me that she loves the skirt because she can put it on over any color/style onesie and turn it into an adorable outfit.

I found a similar skirt at Target and actually bought one to send to another friend for a baby gift. But then, of course, I couldn't resist trying to make one myself.

I happened to have a spool of very wide ecru lace (6 1/2" wide) that I bought at a thrift store months ago, knowing that I would have a use for it at some point:

But if you don't have a spool of lace handy, simply purchase 1/2 yard of lace fabric; it will work just as well. Cut two pieces of lace. The first one, the bottom layer of the skirt, should be 1 1/2 yards wide (or the width of your fabric) and 6 1/2 " long. Cut the top layer 1 1/2 yards wide (or the width of your fabric) and 5" long.

If you have a serger, place the two pieces of lace on top of each other with the right sides of both pieces facing up. Serge the top edges of the lace pieces together. This creates the finished edge of the waist of your skirt.

If you don't have a serger, place the right side of the 5" piece on top of the wrong side of the 6 1/2" piece. Sew a narrow seam along the top of both pieces. Go back and zigzag the raw edge to keep it from fraying. Then open up the lace and fold the short piece over the long piece to hide the seam and create the layers with the right side of both pieces showing. Iron the seam flat.

Measure around your baby's waist, add 1/2," and cut a piece of 1/2" soft elastic that length. (I didn't have a baby handy to measure, so I took the measurement from an 18 month size baby skirt that I had at home. It was 18 inches.) To create a casing for the elastic, measure down 3/4 inch from the top edge of the skirt and sew along that line, back-stitching at the beginning and the end of the stitching.

Thread the elastic through the casing by pinning a safety pin through the front end of the elastic and pushing it through.

(I use a straight pin to secure the back end of the elastic to the front end of the casing so it doesn't pull all the way through and get lost inside the casing.) When you reach the end of the casing, undo the safety pin being careful not to let the elastic slide back into the casing. Use a straight pin to secure the front end of the elastic to the end of the casing.

Place the right sides of the skirt together, matching the raw edges. Stitch the raw edges together with a 1/2" seam, making sure that you catch both ends of the elastic in the seam. Zigzag the raw edges and turn right side out:

Pair it with a favorite onesie and. . . .

Think how cute this could be in a soft denim as well. You could hem it--or not. I think frayed edges would be fun.

Lace-trimmed Denim Baby Jumper

Several weeks ago I saw a picture of a darling baby jumper that someone had "gussied up" by sewing rows and rows of gathered lace on the skirt. I thought, "This is adorable. I need to remember it."

SO CUTE!

(https://www.pinterest.com/pin/168673948519697027/):

I probably would have promptly forgotten about it except that the very next day I found this denim baby jumper in a resale shop. I snatched it up to see what I could do:

The picture I saw used different colors and styles of lace, but  because I didn't want to spend a lot of money to buy new lace for a 25 cent jumper--especially when I didn't know how it would turn out--I just used some white lace that I already had:

Using a ruler, I measured up from the bottom of the hem and marked a sewing line all the way around the skirt making sure that the ruffled bottom of the lace would hang below the bottom of the skirt:

Starting at one of the side seams, I tucked under the raw edge of the lace and, using a zigzag stitch, sewed it along the line I had marked:

When I got close to the side seam where I had started, I cut the lace, leaving enough extra to tuck under the raw edge as I finished sewing that row. I repeated the process for the next layer, making sure that I measured so that the bottom of the second row of lace covered the top of first row:

I continued up the skirt, adjusting the distance between the rows as I got closer to the top to make sure that there wasn't a strange gap at the end.

If I make another one, I will sew the the rows of lace closer together because I like the fuller look of the darling one I saw originally. I was cautious because I didn't want to run out of lace. I wish I could tell you how much lace you will need, but that will depend on the size of the jumper, the fullness of the skirt, the width of the lace you use, and how close together you choose to sew your rows. You can use less lace and create a different look by alternating your lace with rows of gathered fabric like this one I found on Etsy:

(https://www.etsy.com/listing/231736369/10-off-use-code-summer-ruffled-baby)

I sewed the last row of lace just under the bib portion of the jumper:

I can't wait to see it on my newest little model!