Tutorial: Aarhus with Lace Overlay

Blogger: Kirsten Mann

 Aarhus with Lace Overlay

I normally never sew costumes, because I just never thought I'd be able to sew anything that was remotely better than what I could buy in the stores. Last Halloween, Flo asked me several times to make her a witch costume but I cheated and bought her one from the shops.

This year, I decided that I was going to try to challenge myself in different aspects of sewing. I tackled tulle earlier this year (phew) so now it was time to attempt lace overlays.

Now what could I make? Christmas dresses? New Years? Or.... Halloween? I decided to go for it and sew up Flo's witch dress.

I chose a rich purple for the base color and a black lace for the overlay. I cut all the pieces out as per the pattern pieces - for this dress I used Aarhus.

Once they were all cut, I took my main fabric and lace overlay and basted them together around all sides. My lace had some stretch (eugh!), so I then had to trim around it to ensure it stayed the same shape as the main fabric.

I then sewed as normal as per the instructions treating the overlay and main as one.

For the skirt, I basted the lace and the main together around the waist. I then separated them at the bottom and hemmed the main as per the instructions. Once that was done, I flipped the overlay back on top and trimmed the lace to be the same length as the skirt.

Because I used tulle, I enclosed the waist seam and the dress was complete. I then sewed up a coordinating Rivendell cape and, voilà, Flo is ready for Halloween!