Procrastinate Much?

I do!

I procrastinated all week because of fear. Fear of not knowing what to do or doing something to make that lace worse. 

Then there was the down right disappointment of having to redo something that I thought was perfect. 

My first plan was to try and stabilize the existing lace. I hoped that I could use a matching tulle and fuse it together to make the lace stronger. 

My next plan was to use the 10 inches of remaining lace if the fusing didn't go as planned. 

But the more I thought about it the more I realized that it was all a temporary fix. 

Whatever I did I knew that I'd have to remove both sleeves. So that got me thinking that it was a waste of time to "maybe" fix the lace. 

I was definitely convinced that repairing the lace was a bad plan after removing both sleeves, letting out the French seams and unstitching the lining. 

That lace was so fragile that a tulle backing wasn't going to give it a much longer life. 

Then I found that 10 inches of leftover lace wasn't going to be nearly enough to fix the damage. Specially when the damage went almost clear across the 30 inch length sleeve. 

One of the solutions I had read about online talked about sewing across and around the motifs in the lace. But this lace was so fine that one thread of normal everyday thread was huge in comparison to the tulle is was made from (note the thick white thread in the middle of the picture).

That's when I knew I'd have to use a different lace. And why not the same lace that is in the skirt? 

Of course this new lace isn't as vintage as the old lace. BUT that is a really good thing! That means it's stronger! It can be pulled, tugged and enthusiastically manipulated all day and still look young and fresh. A good thing!

So in I dived. After finally coming to a conclusion that I was happy with, I got right to work. 

First sleeve. Easy-peasy. 

(Notice the right and left sleeve difference, old lace on the left, new lace on the right)

It's not as gorgeous but it is now teen proof. 

Now the owner really can wear this dress everyday doing whatever it is that teens do (which may explain how it ended up back with me).

It was a good decision to replace the lace. Look at this, this was the good side.  At any time this side would have ended up just like the other side. 

Thank goodness this all happened before the contest and not at the contest!

It only ended up being a two hour fix. Not how I wanted to spend my morning but not too bad (Netflix waited for me, thank goodness!).

Take care, Brandie