Buying Black Lace for Southern Gothic Decor (Craggy & Lacey)

And now back to your previously scheduled princess….and party planning.^* I ventured out this past weekend to start collecting decorative elements for the Samhain / Halloween dinner party. I want to drape black lace strategically in the dining areas to create a dark, moody ambiance and to cast interesting shadows. The lace is only part of my decorating budget, so I couldnâ€™t raid the entire royal treasury for this purchase. And since this fabric will essentially be a costume piece (for Super House), finding an expensive lace is not warranted. I am a tactile person and like to feel fabrics before purchasing, so I didnâ€™t buy the lace online. I figured a conveniently located national chain would have what I need. I have to say, though, I was disappointed in the selection of black lace at said chain. There was a not-unworthy selection of wedding lace, but even that was limited. To compound the selection problem, most of the black lace had unfinished edges. *tsk tsk tsk*

I stared at the lace for a long time. The location of the black lace was distracting. It was right next to the â€œnot-unworthy selection of wedding lace,â€ which had beading and sequence. My head was like a typewriter starting and the black and gliding to the left to look at sparkles. I really had to focus. After touching everything several times, I finally settled on black chantilly lace with scalloped edges. There were two bolts with remnants of black lace on them and I bought the lot of it (which was about 6 yards — gack! I hope this is enough!). I also bought some simple black fringe to dress up the edging and to give the lace a nudge towards southern gothic. Being short on sewing talent, I will likely do this using Stitch Witchery (how apropos). I will be working on the lace next week and will let you now how it goes (with pictures!).

I originally thought to drape lace over the lamps in the rooms, but that would require more effort than I have time. I would have to create an even circle with the scalloped edge and make sure the fringe hits the lamp shade just so for it to look as I imagined it. Instead, I will drape them as window treatments. This way, I donâ€™t have to do much measuring. I will just gather the lace at the top and swag from from there. As long as the fringe hangs relatively evenly, I will have succeeded.

The next design element I will tackle is a way to â€œconvertâ€ the rounded arch between the dining areas (in Super House) to a faux iron gate / gothic arch. Jax and I were thinking about painting cardboard to get the desired effect. Or maybe cutting out foam. *wince* Budget… constraints… looming. Do you have suggestions for our gothic arch?

*Jax and I recognize that we have a tendency to get off-point. We started the blog as a party planning forum, but find we cannot contain our social commentary (most princesses canâ€™t). We are planning a royal makover in an effort to align our image, narrative and mission. We trust our efforts will be met with rejoicing across the land.

7 comments

T.K. says:

Oct 5, 2010

You might consider poster board or matting used for framing pictures would be a little sturdier, also a bit more expensive. But you can probably get black in both and use it again next year. Use black crate paper twisted for vertical bars on the gate. On the center vertical bar toward the top put a circle (embroidery or crochet hoop) with a pagan star made out of colored cellophane. The hoop would be great for holding the cellophane.
How high and how wide is the archway. Do you want the gate to actually swing?
A rolling fabric cutting wheel works great to cut poster board and matting.

GG says:

Oct 6, 2010

Hi, T.K.! The arch is pretty wide (maybe 5 feet) and pretty tall (maybe 6+ feet). We don’t need the gate to be mobile (though that is a really cool idea) as there won’t be room for it to swing open. I think we will embellish the top of the gate with a fleur-de-lis.

I like your idea of using a crochet hoop. In fact, I might use that for the top of the window treatment instead of just bunching it up like I had originally planned. I will also look into using poster board or matting for the gate.

As always, thanks for responding!!

k! says:

I’m a big fan of paper machÃ©. It’s lightweight, easier to finesse than cardboard, and ends up looking cooler with more depth. Sure, it’s messy, but that makes it fun.

Do you have a picture you’re using as inspiration? I take it the idea is to make the arch look like a wrought iron gate opening, but not actually have a “door”?

Or you could spend $8 on one of these, paint it black and be done with the top part. Complete with hanging hook.

http://www.mardigrasoutlet.com/catalog/3667.htm

🙂

Paper mache does sound like fun. I’ll have to see if I can make the time. Wanna do it with me?!?!

I need to sketch out what I have in mind to see if it’s feasible, but yes the idea is to make the arch look like a wrought iron gate opening sans door.

Then if you decide to go the paper machÃ© route, I’d start with PVC pipe for columns to flank the archway (three taped together if you want thick columns), and get some mid-gauge wire (something that can be easily manipulated) to create a scrolly design for the top. You and affix the pieces of wire together with duct tape to get it secure. then once you get the first layer of paper machÃ© on, just wrapping the wires and joins, it should be pretty stable. If it’s lightweight enough, you probably won’t need many layers.

But it all depends on how heavy you want the top of the gate to be. if you want to completely cover all that white molding, that’s another thing entirely.

You could also just do it with fabric, like a swag of black going all the way to the floor, with a fleur de lis at the top. It might create the impression of a gate without being as labor intensive as cardboard OR paper machÃ© construction.

And sure, if I’m able to, I’d be happy to help. 🙂