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Battenburg Lace
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Battenburg lace
is a bit different from "regular"
freestanding lace. It uses cotton
thread to replicate a classic
hand-crocheted look.
Embroidery Library has many
Battenburg designs that range in
subject and style, from borders to
bookmarks to ornaments.
These project instructions
demonstrate a technique, and the
technique can be applied to any
Battenburg design that you are
working with.
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Supplies
Needed:
**Cotton
thread (see note on choosing thread
below)
**Water
soluble stabilize. We prefer Sulky Ultra Solvy or
Vilene.
**Paper
towels
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Special Project
Notes:
Battenburg lace requires the use of cotton
thread. Rayon or polyester thread
will not work in Battenburg lace, as it
won't hold up the delicate stitches.
I use Coats and Clark 30 and 35 weight
cotton thread. It's labeled as Mercerized ELS Cotton for Machine Quilting & Crafts;
Machine Quilting; or All Purpose. I find
Coats and Clark cotton thread at JoAnn's.
I've also used Madeira Cotona, which is a 30
weight cotton thread.
I use the 30 - 35 weight cotton thread both
in the bobbin (I wind my own bobbins) and in
the top (needle).
For an even more delicate, and somewhat
softer effect, you can use regular bobbin
thread in the bobbin (which is usually 70
weight), and 30 - 35 weight cotton thread in
the top/needle. Bobbin thread, however, only
comes in white and black, so if you choose
to use regular bobbin thread for your lace,
you'll be limited to using white or black in
the needle (as to make the piece
good-looking from both sides).
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.
Designs
Used:
For this tutorial I used the
medium size of the Battenburg Heart
(Lace) design. To find other Battenburg lace
designs, type the keyword BATTENBURG into the search
box at
www.emblibrary.com.
Click here for those search results.
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When you're ready to embroider a
Battenburg lace design, hoop one piece of
water-soluble stabilizer.
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Wind a bobbin for each color of
thread you will be using.
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Attach the hoop to the machine, load
the design, and embroider the
design.
I use a 75/11 sharp
needle when embroidering
freestanding lace.
At each color stop, stop the
machine and
change the bobbin to match the top
thread.
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After the design has finished,
unhoop the WSS and cut away the
excess.
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Remove the stabilizer from the lace
according to package instructions. I
used Sulky Ultra Solvy, so I soaked
the lace in hot water from the
tap for about 10 to 15 minutes.
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Blot the lace with paper towels and
allow it to dry completely.
When the lace has dried,
press with an iron; use a pressing
cloth over the lace to prevent
scorching.
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Doily Assembly Instructions:
Some of the Battenburg lace can be
assembled into a doily.
For the Battenburg Lace
Heart, embroider four pieces as
instructed above.
With the right sides facing
up, align the side edges of two of
the heart shapes together as shown.
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Zigzag stitch the pieces together
along the side edges where the lace
pieces touch using the same color
thread in the bobbin and top thread
that you used to embroider the
designs.
Add the remaining two
pieces by repeating this process:
align the side edges of the hearts
together and zigzag stitch in place.
There should be a small space left
at the center of the doily when
complete (at the bottom points of
the heart shapes).
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And now our lace doily is complete!
The finished size of your lace doily
will depend on the design size you choose.
Large size: 12" wide by 12" high
Medium size: 10" wide by 10" high
Small size: 7" wide by 7" high
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To make a
Battenburg Celtic Knot
doily, embroider six pieces as
instructed above. With the right
sides facing up, align the side
edges of two of the shapes together
as shown.
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Zigzag stitch the pieces together
along the side edges where the lace
pieces touch using the same color
thread in the bobbin and top thread
you used to embroider the designs.
Add the remaining four pieces by
repeating this process: align the
side edges of the pieces together
and zigzag stitch in place. There
should be a small space left at the
center of the doily when complete
(at the bottom points of the
shapes).
The finished size of your lace doily
will depend on the design size you choose.
Large size: 15 1/4" wide by 15 1/4" high
Medium size: 13" wide by 13" high
Small size: 7 1/4" wide by 7 1/4" high
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Size: 6.65 x 5.83 (168.9 x 148.1 mm)
Stitch count: 20828
Price: $4.99
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Size: 5.54 x 4.85 (140.7 x 123.2 mm)
Stitch count: 17792
Price: $4.49
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Size: 3.84 x 3.35 (97.5 x 85.1 mm)
Stitch count: 13084
Price: $3.99
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Size: 4.68 x 8.00 (118.9 x 203.2 mm)
Stitch count: 16091
Price: $4.99
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Size: 4.00 x 6.84 (101.6 x 173.7 mm)
Stitch count: 13607
Price: $3.99
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Size: 2.24 x 3.83 (56.9 x 97.3 mm)
Stitch count: 7793
Price: $2.99
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Size: 5.83 x 9.01 (148.1 x 228.9 mm)
Designs in Pack: 8
Price: $12.97
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Size: 4.85 x 6.86 (123.2 x 174.2 mm)
Designs in Pack: 8
Price: $12.97
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Size: 5.82 x 9.01 (147.8 x 228.9 mm)
Designs in Pack: 5
Price: $9.97
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Size: 4.87 x 6.04 (123.7 x 153.4 mm)
Designs in Pack: 5
Price: $9.97
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Size: 3.85 x 3.85 (97.8 x 97.8 mm)
Designs in Pack: 5
Price: $9.97
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Size: 2.27 x 5.51 (57.7 x 140.0 mm)
Designs in Pack: 6
Price: $9.97
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Size: 1.58 x 3.84 (40.1 x 97.5 mm)
Designs in Pack: 6
Price: $9.97
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Size: 2.24 x 5.50 (56.9 x 139.7 mm)
Stitch count: 7729
Price: $2.99
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Size: 1.58 x 3.85 (40.1 x 97.8 mm)
Stitch count: 5685
Price: $2.49
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Size: 7.00 x 7.02 (177.8 x 178.3 mm)
Stitch count: 29399
Price: $5.99
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Size: 6.16 x 6.18 (156.5 x 157.0 mm)
Stitch count: 26926
Price: $5.49
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Size: 5.48 x 5.50 (139.2 x 139.7 mm)
Stitch count: 24386
Price: $4.99
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Size: 4.82 x 4.84 (122.4 x 122.9 mm)
Stitch count: 21926
Price: $4.49
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Size: 3.86 x 3.87 (98.0 x 98.3 mm)
Stitch count: 17133
Price: $3.99
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Size: 5.49 x 7.90 (139.4 x 200.7 mm)
Stitch count: 19826
Price: $4.99
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Size: 4.17 x 6.00 (105.9 x 152.4 mm)
Stitch count: 15705
Price: $4.49
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Size: 2.67 x 3.85 (67.8 x 97.8 mm)
Stitch count: 10046
Price: $3.99
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Size: 5.00 x 7.90 (127.0 x 200.7 mm)
Stitch count: 21612
Price: $4.99
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Size: 3.79 x 6.00 (96.3 x 152.4 mm)
Stitch count: 17201
Price: $4.49
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Size: 2.42 x 3.83 (61.5 x 97.3 mm)
Stitch count: 10438
Price: $3.99
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Size: 6.77 x 5.80 (172.0 x 147.3 mm)
Stitch count: 23489
Price: $4.99
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Size: 5.65 x 4.84 (143.5 x 122.9 mm)
Stitch count: 20208
Price: $4.49
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Size: 3.85 x 3.29 (97.8 x 83.6 mm)
Stitch count: 10932
Price: $3.99
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