How to make the lace necklace

•  Carefully cut off one of the individual sections of the lace trim by snipping the thread bars between the elements. Look carefully at the lace and find a part of the motif to form your bib shape necklace. You may need to turn the lace upside down.

•  Once you have selected a section, cut other pieces of lace to fill in some of the gaps. You may want to extend the main section with a small motif, like we did with the tulip shape on the top left of our necklace, to create a better shape. 

•  Turn all the different elements over and lay them onto a plastic sheet. Use a small paintbrush to paint around the edges with the fabric stiffener; only lightly brush over any lacy areas so that you don’t fill in the gaps. Allow the stiffener to soak in and then leave it to dry completely.  

•  Begin to fill in some of the larger areas. Position the small motifs into the gaps and stitch the pieces together where they touch using a matching colour thread. Use a few small oversewing stitches and then catch the thread into the lace so it's invisible, then move to the next area that needs stitching. Sew in the thread ends. 

•  Sew the larger motifs into the top edge of the lace to create the classic triangular bib shape. If you find that the lace is still floppy, then paint another coat of fabric stiffener onto it. Once dry, lay the lace  bib between two sheets of greaseproof paper and press with a hot steam iron. Leave flat until cool. 

•  Open a 6mm jump ring and feed it through the lace bib at the corner of the top right edge. Measure across the bib and attach another jump ring to the left side at the same position. Cut two lengths of gold chain measuring about 17-20cm (7-8in) long, and attach one to each jump ring and close again. Check you are happy with the length, then attach a lobster clasp to the end of the right chain and a 4mm jump ring to the end of the left chain, to finish

Materials Needed

*  Corded guipure lace trim 11cm (8in) wide, ours is from  OrientalDirect.co.uk *  Antique gold chain, 40cm (16in) *  Jump rings, 4mm and 6mm *  Lobster clasp *  Fabric stiffener *  Paintbrush *  Plastic sheet *  Ivory cotton thread

Size: 12 x 7cm (4¾ x 2¾in) 

Skill level: Easy