Freestanding Lace Alignment Problems

Freestanding lace is one of the most interesting and beautiful things to create with an embroidery machine. To get the best results, it's important to use a heavy-weight water-soluble stabilizer (we use Sulky Ultra Solvy), a sharp needle (not an embroidery needle), and hoop the stabilizer tightly.

If the above materials aren't used, and if the stabilizer is hooped loosely, then parts of the freestanding lace stitchout will separate, and when the stabilizer is rinsed away, the lace really won't be "freestanding" any longer.

Embroidery Library has a large freestanding lace design collection, and many articles and tutorials to show you how to get the best results. One article is called A Close-Up Look at Lace, and that article shows how loose hooping can cause the satin stitch borders in a lace design to separate from the lace fills. Click here to read that article.

Other things that can cause a lace design to separate, or not align correctly, is bobbin tension. If the bobbin tension is too tight, then stitches may be pulled apart. This is a bit rare, but can contribute to a separation problem.

If you are using a heavy weight water-soluble stabilizer, hooping tightly, using a sharp needle, and confident that the tension is good, and if you are experiencing lace alignment problems, then send an email to stitch@emblibrary.com. Include:

**Your order number
**The type of water-soluble stabilizer you are using
**The type and size needle you are using

Include all of the above information in your email.

We'll check the design, and try the replicate the problem here.