A Stitching Odyssey: Watch This Lace - Lauren's taste of Cinnamon

It's with mixed feelings that I write today's post - I'm really sad because it signals the end of Watch This Lace, but I'm also over the moon to have Lauren from Lladybird with me!!! Everybody squeeel! To put it mildly, Lauren is a creative dynamo of activity - last year she made a staggering 52 items and that's at the same time as holding down a job and having a social life! This gal sews everything - from tricky trousers and epic jackets to prettiest dresses and everyday basics. And she's fearless to boot - teaching herself to knit last year and already churning out some seriously impressive things.

Hey y'all! I'm so excited to be a part of this fancy lace journey - thank you, Marie, for the opportunity to participate!

I don't normally choose to sew with lace - I love the way it looks, but I feel like it always looks too fussy when I try to add it as a decorative trim. For my project, I decided to sew something that can only be improved by the addition of lace - a fancy nightgown, using the Cinnamon Slip by Colette Patterns. To keep things a little edgy, I chose a lightweight cotton plaid, in a manly range of colors. I love plaid, and I think it looks so cool paired up with such a dainty lace, don't you agree?

Sewing this up was fairly simple - cutting it was a NIGHTMARE. I don't know why I thought a bias plaid garment would be fun to cut out, but yeech. I think I spent over 2 hours trying to match up all those little diagonal lines, and some of them still don't match up perfectly. With that being said, I think I did an OK job and it is a slip after all - so I'm trying not to be too nit picky!

I assembled most of the slip before adding the lace - I didn't have a terribly clear picture in my mind of where exactly I wanted the lace to trim, so it was helpful to have a mostly-completed piece that I could pin lace scraps to and play around with. Originally, I was going to pile layers of the lace over the V midriff section, but it just looked too busy so I ended up letting it be a trim. You'll notice the top lace is sewn over the seam, and the bottom lace is sandwiched in - I thought it added a little visual interest. The navy ribbon trim was a last-minute afterthought, it helps pull everything together. I added the little bow in the center because I LOVE that kind of girly shit.

I added a line of lace around the hem as well, to complete the look.

I am so happy with my new slip and I can't wait to get some serious wear out of it when the weather starts warming up again. I still have a pretty big cut of the fabric left over, and I'd love to make some matching Amerson undies to wear with it. For now - I'm layering it with knee-high socks and a cardigan, because this little Southern Rose is COLD! Spring, spring - where are you?

Thanks for letting me be a part of this, Marie! You da best ;)

Oooh, Lauren looks so cozy and cute in her Cinnamon! I'm sure my boyfriend would rather I slept in one of these than the sloppy pyjama bottoms I like to lounge around in! Thanks for taking part Lauren and for making the lace work for you in such an interesting and clever way.

I also want to thank my seven other brilliant participants - who are all listed and linked to here. You've all made this series the success that it's been and I hope my readers have enjoyed it as much as I have. It's been really cool having a regular feature to look forward to, so I'm already thinking of new ways to fill this void...