Laying Out My Lace

I am officially lace-obsessed.

I've done a lot of experimenting, laying this black cotton lace on top of a wide range of fabrics in my stash (I showed you some of the results on Tuesday).  There are many possibilities, but if this shirt is going to be my April Mood Sewing Network project (or part of it) then the shirting has to be from Mood.  Of course, I have enough lace to make a dozen shirts with lace in them, so I can experiment to my heart's content down the road.

I also need shirting for my final Menswear Sewing class shirt, which I suppose I'll need to complete by mid-May.  So, not feeling like I had exactly the right fabric in my stash, I returned to the fabric store today and purchased this paisley.  At least I think it's a paisley.





Mint green and gray are both good colors for me.  And it's light enough that you can still read the lace design if it's placed over the print.





I did like the red gingham with the lace, but there's currently no red gingham for sale at Mood.  Plus red and black and lace always makes me think of the Battle of the Carmens -- anybody remember that?



Naturally, I could hold off on the lace, or use it with another fabric, but I think this minty print is a good match.  Another strong contender is the lavender dotted swiss.  But the dotted swiss fabric is a little coarse and informal for black lace, I think.



Next I need to figure out how to lay out these patterns.  I'm pretty sure this design needs to go like this, forming heart-like shapes.  (It reminds me a lot of this Liberty of London print, "Kitty Grace" -- one might even call it a near-identical knock-off.)



As for the lace, I think it can be cut perpendicular to the selvage or parallel.

This is perpendicular:



This is parallel:



I don't think it really matters, do you?  Can lace have a grainline?  I don't think so.

So that's it.  I hope to get started soon.  Again, I'm not married to the idea of the using the lace with this delicate Liberty-esque print, but it seems like my best option.

Thoughts?

Have a great day, everybody!