How to make a lace necklace

Our gorgeous lace necklace offers an easy update for summer wardrobes that style-conscious customers will find hard to resist!

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Holly Spanner

Published: July 8, 2024 at 10:50 am

It's been an essential part of our summer wardrobes for the past few years, and now the trend for lace has worked its way into jewellery boxes too, so it can be worn as an accessory all year round.

Lace necklaces are big news on the high street right now, and this vintage style lace necklace is just the thing to give last season's outfits a new update.

Our lace necklace is quick and easy to make by following our free step-by-step tutorial. Choose a heavyweight lace such as guipure or corded lace that will hold its shape well, although even heavy laces will need to be hardened with fabric stiffener.

You may be lucky enough to find a motif that can be used as it is, but don't worry if not. Just follow our steps which show you how to piece together lace motifs to create just the right shape that you need for your lace necklace.

Looking for more awesome jewellery making tutorials? Check out these funky crochet earrings – perfect for festivals, or how about learning how to make these gorgeous polymer clay earrings (pictured above)?

We love seeing what you make, so don’t forget to share your craft projects with us on Facebook and Twitter, too!

Lace has a long and fascinating history. Learn about the history of antique lace with this interesting guide from Homes & Antiques.

To make this lace necklace you will need:

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)

Top tips

The fabric stiffener will also act as a fray check for the edges!

How to make a lace necklace

Step 1

To make your 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.

Step 2

Once you have selected a section for your lace necklace, 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.

Step 3

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.

Step 4

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.

Step 5

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.

Step 6

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 your lace necklace.

How to make a lace necklace

Once you’ve made your lace necklace, be sure to tag us in a picture on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook. We’d love to see the finished result!

Staff Writer, BBC Science Focus

Holly is the Staff Writer for BBC Science Focus and looks after the popular Q&A section. She holds an MSc (distinction) in Geoscience (Space and Climate Physics) from UCL, and specialises in astronomy and earth sciences. Before joining Our Media, she worked as a geoenvironmental consultant and engineer, informing on ground risk and remediation in the north of England, while hunting for exoplanets in her spare time. Alongside this, she was regional editor of a popular theatre website for nine years, and has a solid background in curating and developing content for the digital space. Holly is also an artist and illustrator, and regular contributor to the craft website, Gathered. She has previously worked with the RSPB, English Heritage, Disney, Pilot and Brother, as well as on BBC Good Food magazine, Home Style magazine, and Papercraft inspirations magazine. She enjoys photography and has a sustained interest in antiques.