"In September, I had the good fortune of being invited to the Kent State University Museum in celebration of its 25th anniversary – the dress code – “Cocktail with a Touch of Silver.” I had been working over the summer on an early ‘50s-inspired dress I had cut from a steel gray stretch suiting; I hadn’t put in the zipper, tacked the lining or the hem. With this special occasion looming, I knew just how I was going to finish my dress. Martha Pullen Company had purchased all that remained of silver-dipped lace edging from Jennifer Osner. (Kathy Barnard and I had snatched it up at the Vegas market a few years back.)
"This vintage trim turned out to be the perfect feminine frill to dress up my fitted silhouette and mannish fabric. I outlined the neck, bust and waist lines of the dress with the ½” edging and added two rows of the 1” edging to the hem. The heading of the lace is beautifully woven in the silver threads, so to attach it, I simply straight machine stitched down the center with a metallic Sulky thread (color #142).
You can still purchase the lace (limited availability) at www.sewbeautifulmag.com; click “Shop our Products, and then “Issue #132). The dress pattern is a discontinued Vogue (#9668), but a Google search reveals that there are some copies still out there. (Great pattern, by the way.) And I did do a little research on cleaning the silver lace. Chestofbooks.com has a section from Henley’s Twentieth Century Formulas Recipes Processes Encyclopedia by Norman W. Henley and others, which offers tips ranging from the use of very fine alabaster power to curdled milk."– Amelia Johanson, Associate Editor, SB
