Embroidery Library - Machine Embroidery Designs Inspired Project Page

Ribbon Laced Bookmarks

Embellish your lace bookmarks with ribbons and beads! You can use different ribbons, beads, and weaving techniques to create an array of looks for your bookmarks.

Read below for these free project instructions.

Supplies Needed:

**Heavy weight water-soluble
stabilizer (we prefer Sulky
Ultra Solvy)

**Paper towels

**1/8 inch to 1/4 inch
wide ribbon

**Hot glue and gun -or-
fabric glue

**Beads and small tapestry
needle (optional)

Designs used:
A Faithful Lace Bookmarks Design Pack

A note about water-soluble stabilizers and needles:

There are many, many different brands of water-soluble stabilizer available. Some are thin and light, some are fibrous, and some are thick and heavy. It can be confusing to pick the right one for your lace project.

We've digitized and stitched thousands of freestanding lace designs, and have consistently excellent results with Sulky Ultra Solvy (the heavy weight water-soluble stabilizer by Sulky) and Vilene, a fibrous water-soluble stabilizer. We order Vilene from www.pointetopointe.com.

Use a sharp needle (as opposed to an embroidery needle) when embroidering onto water-soluble stabilizer - especially if using the "plastic-looking" kind (such as Sulky Ultra Solvy). An embroidery needle has a larger point, which makes larger holes in the water-soluble stabilizer, leading to tearing and misalignment.

First we will embroider the lace. For instructions on how to embroider freestanding lace click here. After the lace has been soaked and dried, then it is time to add the ribbon. Thread the ribbon through the holes in the lace. We chose to thread the ribbon through the hole in the center, starting at the bottom. You can thread the ribbon however you like - be creative and experiment different ways to weave the ribbon!

Allow about 7 inches of excess ribbon at the top of the bookmark, and trim the ribbon at the bottom of the bookmark. Then, glue the ribbon in place by adding a drop of glue (hot glue or fabric glue) and pressing the ribbon in place.

If you like, thread beads through the top end of the ribbon. Tie a knot or two at the end to prevent the beads from slipping off. Then, trim the excess ribbon at the knot. You may need to thread the ribbon through the beads using a small tapestry needle. Or, you may cut an angled point at the end of the ribbon and then thread it through the bead.

You can add more than one piece of ribbon to the bookmarks. We added ribbon to the horizontal bar of the cross bookmark by threading the ribbon through and then tying knots at each end to hold the ribbon in place.

You can also create a "tail" of ribbon by leaving the excess ribbon at the bottom of the bookmark.

Click here for a printable version of these project instructions.

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