Embroidery Library - Machine Embroidery Designs Inspired Project Page

Illuminating Halloween Decor

Light up your life -- and your driveway and sidewalk -- with charming luminaries, all aglow for Halloween Eve.

Embroider light and breezy organza with spooky Halloween motifs, and affix these decorative squares to paper bags. Add battery-operated candles, and you'll be bright with creative decor ideas.

Read on for free project instructions!

Supplies Needed:

**Small paper bags (ours are 4
   3/4 inches wide by 8 3/4
   inches high by 3 inches deep)

**8 x 8 inch piece of polyester
organza

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

Temporary spray adhesive (like Gunold KK100) Air-erase pen Fabric glue Paper towels	Tea lights or small candles (battery- operated, no fire or flame) Sand or small rocks Decorative paper punch (optional) Feather boa (optional)

Special Project Notes: In this project I used designs from the Boo-tiful Baroque Design Pack - Sm. But I also had my eye on the designs in the Spellbound Sparkle (Redwork) Design Pack - Sm, and A Halloween Damask Design Pack - Sm. Those would work very well, too. All of these designs are open and airy, so they hold up nicely on organza, and they also allow the light from the battery-operated candle to shine through with a nice glow. I found the paper bags, battery-operated tea lights, and paper punch at Michael's craft store.

First, decide how large you want the "window" in the paper bag. I wanted mine to be large and take up the majority of the bag.

The bag is 4 3/4 inches wide.
I planned my organza fabric window to be 4 3/4 inches square.

Cut a piece of organza and water-soluble stabilizer a bit larger than the hoop you're working with.

Spray the stabilizer with a quick shot of spray adhesive (not too much, or the water-soluble stabilizer will dissolve and disappear before your very eyes, like Halloween magic!). Smooth the fabric on top.

Use an air-erase pen or other marking tool to draw the square on the fabric (mine is 4 3/4 inches square).

Measure and mark the center of each side of the square (do this by measuring the length of a side and dividing by two; then measure in that length from a corner and make a mark). Draw lines connecting the marks. These marks will be used to hoop the fabric straight and even.

Create a template of the design by printing it at full size from an embroidery software program. Poke a hole in the center of the template and align it with the center point on the fabric. There should be about 1/2 inch of space between the outer edge of the design, and the edge of the square.

(If you don't have embroidery software to print a template, then find the center point of your square and mark it.)

Remove the paper template, and hoop the fabric and stabilizer. Align the marks on the hoop with the marks that you made on the fabric.

Wind a bobbin with the same thread you're using in the top. This gives the back of the embroidery a neat and finished look.

Attach the hoop to the machine, load the design, and move the hoop so that the needle is over your center point. Embroider the design!

After embroidering, trim any long or loose threads on the backside. Cut out the square.

Soak the fabric in hot water from the tap. Soak the fabric until all of the stabilizer has been removed. Blot with paper towels, and air dry.

When the fabric is dry, you might notice that it's a bit wavy. Press the organza with a cool iron and pressing cloth, if you wish.

I used a decorative paper punch to add detail along the top of the bag. This step is optional.

Cut the window on the front of the bag.

To allow enough room to affix the bag, subtract 7/8 inch from the size of your square.

For example, my square is 4 3/4 inches, and after subtracting 7/8 of an inch, the size is 3 7/8 inches. I cut the square to that size.

Place fabric glue along the outer edges of the fabric.

Insert the fabric inside the bag, right side facing out. Align it with the outer edges of the window shape. Press the fabric edges in place.

I cut a feather boa into smaller pieces, and added a length of it to the bottom outer edges of the bag.

I added drops of fabric glue on each corner and pressed the boa in place. You can also add beads, crystals, ribbon, or whatever you'd like!

Fill the bottom of the bag with sand or small rocks to weight it down. Add battery-operated tea lights or candles, and away you glow!

Light up your Halloween night with this illuminating idea! After use, the bags are easy to store and save for next year. A delightfully frightful decor idea!

Click here for a printable version of these project instructions.