Conquering a Fear of Lace

I am afraid to sew with lace. It intimidates me. It is so beautiful and delicate that the thought of cutting and sewing it -- and potentially ruining it -- scares the heck out of me.

Well, I now have a great opportunity to try and conquer this fear of mine. I will be participating in a couture sewing workshop led by Susan Khalje at the end of this month in San Francisco -- and have decided to work on a couple of lace projects.

I like the idea of using a "fancy" fabric such as lace for garments that are more "every day". There are a lot of examples and sources of inspiration for this. One project I would like to work on is a simple, raised waist pencil skirt.

Image from here.

I'm also aiming to make a trench-style jacket or coat as well. This may be more challenging, but I love the look of a lace trench. Here are a couple of inspiration photos -- I love the fitted looks and the usual trench details, but may opt for a shorter length.

Images from here.

Image from here.

I've picked out my patterns and will be working on muslins prior to the workshop. I'm very grateful for the opportunity to work with Susan (thanks to DH for the fabulous Christmas gift!) and for the chance to finally overcome my fear of sewing with lace!