Designs used:

These designs are from the small size of the Light and Lacy Umbrella Girl Design Packs. In these packs, the beautiful Battenburg lace skirts feature colors and design motifs that match the umbrellas in the Umbrella Girls designs!

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.