Unstitched suits · 8 October 2026 · 4 min read
Can lace or a border from an old suit be reused?
Can you reuse lace from an old suit? Often, if it is sound and long enough. When it is worth unpicking, how to wash and measure it, and how to send it with fabric.
InspirationOften, if it is sound and long enough
Yes, lace or an embroidered border taken off an old suit can go on a new outfit, as long as it is still in good condition, comes away cleanly and is long enough for where you want it. It is most worth doing for hand-worked, woven or wide decorative borders, and least worth it for thin lace that has gone limp or faded.
You remove and prepare the trim yourself at home; we do not take apart or alter existing clothes. Once it is clean and measured, it can be sent with the fabric for a new outfit we stitch. If you would rather change the old garment itself, that is a different job, covered in restyling an old suit.
Worth unpicking, or not
Hold the trim up to daylight and look closely before you start. These signs help you decide.
- Worth it: hand embroidery, a woven border, a wide guipure lace, a border with real weight, or a piece that matters to you.
- Think twice: lace that has stretched or gone wavy, a border faded where it faced the light, or one with several joins already.
- Probably not: narrow, inexpensive lace, trims that were glued or fused on, and anything with holes or pulled threads along its length.
Taking it off and washing it
Use a seam ripper or small scissors and cut the stitches from the garment side, so the blade never touches the lace. Work slowly and pick out the loose thread ends as you go. If the border was embroidered onto the suit fabric itself, cut round it leaving a margin of base fabric, rather than trimming close to the work; the margin can be neatened later.
Then wash it gently, following the care label of the old suit if it has one, and test a hidden end first by pressing a damp white cloth against it to see whether any colour runs. Dry it flat and press it from the back under a cloth. Washing before measuring matters, because old trims can still shrink a little. Our notes on pre-washing before stitching explain why.
Measuring what you have
Measure the total length of each piece, its width, and how many joins it has. Then compare it with where you want it to go: the full hem of a kameez needs the front and back hem widths together, plus a little for joins at the side seams; sleeve ends need two matching lengths; a dupatta needs both ends. Our guide to lace and border work on a made-to-measure suit shows where trims usually sit.
If there is not enough for the hem, a shorter piece can still work at the neckline, the sleeve ends or the dupatta corners.
Sending it with your fabric
Tell us about the trim before you send anything: what it is, its length and width, a daylight photo of it beside the new fabric, and where you would like it. Lace and borders are added only on outfits we stitch, so it travels with the fabric for your new outfit under Stitching Only.
Once we confirm it is suitable, pack each piece in its own labelled bag inside the same parcel as the fabric; posting your fabric for stitching covers the rest. Start with a Stitching Only quote, and we confirm in writing how the trim will be used.
Common questions
Can you remove the lace from my old suit for me?
No. We do not alter or take apart existing clothes, so please remove the lace or border at home before sending it with your fabric.
Will old lace match a new fabric?
Lace often softens or changes shade with age, so choose the new fabric with the lace in your hand and compare them in daylight rather than under indoor light.
Can a border with old stitch holes be used?
Usually, since the holes along the edge are hidden when it is sewn on again. Holes in the body of the lace or border are harder to hide.
