What are some interesting ways to incorporate antique lace?

lvanwhy

I was flattered when my mother-in-law offered me the antique lace from her wedding dress - which is really lovely, but its yellowed with age and probably would not match the pattern of the lace on my own NEW dress.

Is it possible to return antique lace to its original, pristine white color without ruining it?

Does anyone have any interesting ideas on how I could use the lace without actually adding it to my dress or veil?

OBX2011

You could have it cut into a handkerchief and have your new initials monogrammed on the backside of it--provided that there is enough space for this.

This could also be a keepsake that you give to your daughter one day

CaseyS88

You could always use it to wrap your boquet...or I definitely second hte handkerchief idea. It's sentimental and sweet.

Maggie0829

I used lace from my Mother's wedding gown as the "ribbon" accent around the base of my bouquet.

Sue-n-Kevin

I think all the ideas above are great.

I would buy some Ivory Snow detergent, the kind that they recommend for cleaning baby clothes to clean the lace. Use warm water in a sink, add the detergent, swirl around and soak the lace. If you see the water getting yellow from the lace, clean & repeat until the water is clear.  

Is the lace on the dress a large piece, ie the entire bodice or skirt? or is it just appliques? Either way, you can cut it to fit the purpose you choose, but if it is an entire piece, and you can get it clean, you might want to just cut appliques out of that and put them on a place white handkerchief. Since it's your fiance's Mom, maybe you can cut a small piece to wrap on his bout or attach to the back of his tie in some way. IMO that would be really sweet.

ccarrion77

You could cut a long strip and weave it through your hair, I've seen it done before, very pretty!