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Battenburg Lace
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Battenburg lace
is soft and oh-so-pretty, and a
dream to stitch!
Light and
airy, yet sturdy, freestanding
Battenburg lace is a wonderful way
to decorate your home. Lovely on
tables and under flowers, Battenburg
lace is sure to add a stylish touch
to your home decor!
Read on for project instructions for
creating delicate Battenburg lace
hearts, and also for stitching them
together into a lovely doily!
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Supplies
Needed:
**Cotton embroidery or sewing
thread (see note on choosing thread
below)
**Water
soluble stabilizer (WSS)
**Paper
towels |
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Special Project
Notes:
Battenburg lace requires the use of cotton
thread. A 40 weight rayon or polyester
thread will
not work as it will not hold up the delicate
stitches. Choose 50 weight 100% cotton
sewing thread or for a bit heartier look,
use 30 weight Madeira Cotona or 30 weight
100% cotton sewing thread.
I used 50
weight 100% cotton sewing thread from Coats
and Clark. I used cotton thread in the
bobbin and in the needle (top thread). For
an even more delicate, somewhat softer
effect, you can use regular bobbin thread
(70 weight thread) in the bobbin and cotton
thread in the needle. Bobbin thread,
however, only comes in white or black, so if
you choose bobbin thread for your lace, the
lace will not be reversible as the bobbin
thread will be seen on the back of the
embroidery.
Once your lace heart
design is complete, keep scrolling down the page to
see additional instructions on how to
piece together multiple pieces of the heart shape to create a
doily!
Designs
Used:
I used the
medium size of the Battenburg Heart
(Lace) design. This design is also available
in other sizes -
Large or
Small.
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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
embroidery needle when embroidering
freestanding lace.
At each color stop, stop the
machine and remove the hoop (but
don't unhoop the stabilizer), 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. Trim as close to the
embroidery as possible without
cutting any of the stitches.
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Soak 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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And now our lace is complete!
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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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