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Ornament Covers
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Ornament Covers
Add an elegant, vintage look
to your Christmas decorations with freestanding lace ornament
covers! Project instructions below demonstrate how to find the right
size design for your ornament, how to embroider the lace, and how to
join two sewn pieces together to make the ornament cover. |
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Click here to watch
the video! |
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Having trouble viewing the video? Download the latest version of
Windows Media Player here:
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To begin, choose the right size design for your ornaments.
Here are the sizes:
For an ornament with a 4" height or a 12.5" circumference, choose the
large size of the lace designs.
For an ornament with a 3" height or a 9 7/8" to 10 3/16" circumference, choose
the medium size of the lace designs.
For an ornament with a 2.5" height/or a 8" circumference, choose
the small size of the lace designs.
Note that the small size will also work if the
bulb is 2.25 inches; it will just be a little looser.
Need help in determining the height? Stand the ornament on a
flat service, and place a ruler next to it. Measure from the
base to the bottom edge of the cap.
Some embroiderers have reported difficulty in finding the right
size bulb for the medium size cover. We were able to find the 3"
height bulbs at Michaels (the brand is Handmade Holidays),
Joann's (the brand is Holiday Inspirations), and Target (brand
unknown). The size that the manufacturer lists on the packaging
may be misleading; it's best to measure the bulb rather than
trust the labeling.
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Here is an
example of how you measure the height of the
bulb. This bulb is four inches tall, so we'll
use the large size lace ornament cover. |
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To measure the
circumference of the bulb, wrap a vinyl
measuring tape around the widest part of the
bulb. |
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Supplies needed:
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Glass ornament --
large is 4 inches in height, medium is 3 inches, small is 2-1/2 inches
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1 yard of ribbon, 1/8
inch wide
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Water-soluble
stabilizer (WSS)
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Bobbins wound with
embroidery thread
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Tapestry needle
with a large eye
Embroidery Design from Embroidery
Library:
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Soak the two embroideries in water to
remove the stabilizer. We soaked them for about 15
minutes. Refer to package instructions if using a
different brand of WSS. |
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After soaking,
remove the embroideries from the water, and blot off the lace with a
paper towel.
You can handle the
lace right away. And, the lace will mold itself better
to the ornament if it is still damp. |
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Place the two embroidery pieces together, with the right sides
facing each other. At the widest point on each side of
the embroideries, hand stitch the pieces together so that
the pieces will form a circle. Turn right side out.
Position the circle of lace around
an ornament The straight ends of the lace covers will
go on the top of the ornament. |
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Thread the tapestry needle with the
narrow ribbon.
Using the needle,
weave the ribbon through the top openings (or loops) in
each section of the ornament cover.
Place the ornament into the center of
the ornament cover and tighten the ribbon through the
segments. |
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Pull the ribbon tight around the top of
the ornament, and tie in a pretty bow. |
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You have finished
your half ornament cover! For
further embellishing ideas for the half ornament covers, go to the bottom of this page.
The next steps will pertain
to full ornament covers. |
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Full ornament covers
To make a full ornament cover, you will continue from
this point in the instructions, just a few more steps,
to complete the bottom.
Gently pull each bottom point toward
the center bottom of the ornament to help it stretch. |
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Use the rest of the threaded ribbon
to weave through the loop on each bottom point. |
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Draw the ribbon tight to bring the
points together at the bottom. Tie a knot, and snip
off any extra ribbon. |
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Here is a view of a completed full
ornament cover. The beauty of lace is rivaled only
by the numbers of creative ways you will think of to use
these outstanding ornaments.
If you would like to further embellish
your ornament, look below for some ideas to get you
started. They're fun and easy! |
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Dangling beads add sparkle and movement.
Stitch beads
or pearls to the bottom ends of the half ornament covers, or
at the bottom circle of the full covers. |
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Weave a little wonder
Thread
another colorful ribbon in the tapestry needle, and weave it
through some of the open spaces in the lace. This is a
quick and simple way to add extra color and dimension. |
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All the drama of a movie star!
Glue a length of marabou feather
boa around the ornament, and affix hot fix crystals
right onto the glass ornament. That's right!
Hot fix crystals stick to anything that can take
the heat of the applicator tool.
Your creativity will know no bounds!
And, your tree will be absolutely stunning. |
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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.
Click
here for a printable version of these project
instructions.
You'll need to have Adobe Acrobat Reader installed on
your computer. If you don't have it, you can download a
free copy by clicking on the icon below.
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Size: 3.97 x 4.84 (100.8 x 122.9 mm)
Designs in Pack: 10
Price: $19.97
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Size: 3.28 x 3.91 (83.3 x 99.3 mm)
Designs in Pack: 8
Price: $15.97
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Size: 5.29 x 6.44 (134.4 x 163.6 mm)
Designs in Pack: 10
Price: $19.97
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